A superhero’s days as a champion of recycling in Port Moody won’t be coming to an end after all.
The giant superhero character painted by artist David Pacholko that has rolled through the city’s streets on the side of one of four garbage trucks since 2011 will get a new life on the sides of a new truck as the city prepares to decommission its fleet of four older waste-collection vehicles. The trucks will reach the end of their seven-year service life next year.
In 2011, each of the trucks was wrapped with artwork with an environmental theme created by artists commissioned by the city. A fifth truck purchased in 2015 was also wrapped with art.
At last Tuesday’s council meeting, councillors approved the expenditure of $17,500 to implement a similar art program for the new trucks. Two will be done by artists commissioned by the city through an open public art call. A third will be a reimagining of Pacholko’s recycling superhero character as he’ll be commissioned to paint his character in a new scene. The fourth truck will be a collage of artwork created by students from Port Moody schools. The project will be funded by the city’s artwork reserve.
Count. Zoe Royer said the colourful trucks have become a popular part of the cityscape.
“I think some of them are just beautiful,” she told council.
In fact, Pachalko’s recycling superhero character has even been brought to life by the city’s operations staff for special occasions.
To reinforce the environmental waste reduction theme of the trucks’ artwork, special interchangeable panels will also be installed on the new trucks. The seven-foot-wide panels will feature messages about waste reduction, the city’s Bear Aware programs, changes to garbage collection schedules and upcoming special events.
“As the waste collection vehicles go to every neighbourhood, the message panels are a good way to share this information with the public,” said a report presented to council.
The $2,500 cost to install the panel frames on the four new trucks will come from the city’s solid waste and recycling budgets.
