Well folks…we did it.
After seven hours of trash collection, thirteen-and-a-half hours of building, three written articles, thirteen Instagram posts from four different organizations, and several months, our trash sculpture project is complete. 
Whew.
This past Thursday, September 30th, our sculptures were officially installed in their new homes on UAB’s campus—the Solar House, the Sterne Library, and University Hall—and they look GORGEOUS!
On the following Tuesday, October 5th, we invited all members from each participating organization—Aura (of course), Green Initiative, Green Globe, Sustain UAB, and the Social Justice Advocacy Council—as well as officials from each building listed above to attend a recap meeting where we assessed the outcomes of our project. We are pleased to announce that after a lot of discussion, each org came to agree that despite some setbacks due to institutional regulations, our project was a success! 
Besides the outcomes of this collaboration, a large portion of our meeting was dedicated to remembering the reasoning of why we set out to do this in the first place. We really wanted to find a way to both start and continue the conversation on campus surrounding the mismanagement of waste and its impacts at local, state, national, and global levels. Through our detailed articles, strong social-media campaign, and eye-catching sculptures, we believe this goal was achieved in its entirety.
Our biggest takeaway? We have to keep going.
Whether it be another sculpture project, more articles, or in-the community volunteering, this cannot be our only attempt to make an impact on waste pollution; an issue so critical and impactful to all members of society cannot simply be a one-and-done kind of project. In the coming years, we commit to look for ways to revisit this collaboration that keeps it both fresh and adherent to our original inspirations.
Readers, keep looking for things from us and we will dutifully be doing the same for you.
—Aura
