01
Learners collect the waste
Teams run collection drives on the school grounds, in the streets around the school and along the river. Everything is sorted, cleaned and weighed before anyone picks up a paintbrush.
A youth led environmental art initiative
We turn the waste choking our rivers into art people cannot ignore.
Learners collect the plastic and litter polluting our waterways, then build it into artwork that carries the message further than any poster could. The best work is judged online and wins real prize money.
- Competition entries
- Entries close 6 November 2026 at 13:00
- People's Choice voting
- Voting opens 6 November 2026 at 11:00
What we do
A river is dying quietly. We are making it impossible to look away.
Our rivers carry litter, sewage and plastic downstream into larger water systems that eventually reach the ocean. Plastic chokes the life in them, and most of the schools along their banks have no recycling system at all.
Custodians of the Blue gives learners the tools, the training and a public stage to do something about it. They collect the waste themselves. They turn it into artwork. Then they stand in front of their school, their community and a panel of judges, and they explain exactly what they found and what it means.
The artwork is the hook. The real outcome is a generation of young people who understand their catchment, who can speak about it with authority, and who have proved to themselves that they can change something.
How it runs
Four stages, from a first bag of litter to a finished exhibition
02
They turn it into artwork
That waste becomes sculpture, fashion and mosaic. Every piece carries a written artist statement explaining what it means and exactly where each material came from.
03
The work goes on show
Each school hosts its own exhibition and the public votes for a People's Choice winner. The strongest pieces go through to the final exhibition and are scored by an invited panel.
04
The story gets told
Every artwork and the story behind it is published in a digital storybook shared online, so what happens at one school becomes something anyone can read.
Judging
One rubric. Every artwork. No surprises.
Judging happens online against a fixed, published rubric. Every judge scores every criterion out of 10 and writes a comment explaining the mark. Learners can read the rubric before they build, which is the point.
Read the full rubricCreativity and Originality
30%How innovative and unique is the design and the use of waste materials? Does the piece surprise the viewer? Is the approach fresh and unexpected?
Environmental Impact
25%How much waste was repurposed? What types of materials were used? Does the artwork demonstrate meaningful waste diversion from the environment?
Craftsmanship and Quality
20%How well executed is the final piece? Is it structurally sound, visually strong and durable? Was care and skill applied to the construction?
Message and Awareness
15%Does the artwork communicate an environmental theme effectively? Will a viewer understand the message without being told? Is the artist statement clear and compelling? Judge the artwork and the artist statement here, not the feedback answers.
Reflection and Learning
10%Read the learner's own written answers. How honestly and specifically do they describe what they understood about plastic waste before, what changed, how they actually built the piece and what they would do differently? Reward real thinking and concrete detail. Do not mark down spelling, grammar or fluency in English.
What is at stake
Real prize money, real certificates, a real audience
Learners keep ownership of their artworks and may sell them. Anything a learner chooses to give back to the programme afterwards is entirely voluntary, and goes towards materials for the next group.
- First placeR3 300200 USD
- Second placeR2 400150 USD
- Third placeR1 600
- People's Choice, three awardsR250 each
- Best awareness postR900
All prize amounts use the exchange rate on 04 September and were rounded down to the nearest hundred rand. Every participant receives a certificate.
Built something out of waste? Enter it.
Create your account with your cell number, your school and a password. Upload your artwork, tell us the story behind it, and the judges take it from there.