Derek DelGallo

Courtesy of Katherine Abatuno

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From Trash to Art

April 14, 2025
By Cailin Loesch

In January, some unusual art was unveiled at Lillian M. Jacobs School in Hull, Massachusetts. The sculptures are made entirely of trash collected by sixth-graders!

The school is located on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. In February 2024, students spent a chilly day cleaning up a nearly 1-mile stretch of Nantasket Beach. They collected more than 40 bags of trash.

“I often go to the beach and don’t notice the trash,” says Derek DelGallo, now a seventh-grader. “But when I looked for it, I realized how much there was.”

Every year, billions of pounds of trash end up in oceans around the world. Much of it is plastic. This waste pollutes beaches and can harm sea animals. Many get tangled in the plastic or mistake it for food and become sick. 

Courtesy of Jackie Ranney

Derek DelGallo and his classmates created an “aquarium” out of the trash.

A Better Beach

After their beach cleanup, the students sorted and counted each piece of trash. They sent that data to the Center for Coastal Studies. The organization helps protect the ocean near Massachusetts.

Then local artist Jackie Ranney and teachers at the school helped the students turn the trash into sculptures of fish and other sea creatures. The artwork is a reminder of how important it is to take care of the planet.

“I hope kids see this art and think about how they use plastic,” says Ranney. “They might ask, ‘Do I throw away and recycle my trash properly?’” 

Derek is proud that he and his classmates helped keep trash out of the ocean.

“Our town’s beaches are amazing,” he says. “We want to make sure they stay clean.”

Courtesy of Jackie Ranney

The students found everything from old balloons to fishing cages on the beach (left). Then they sorted the trash into categories like glass, plastic, and foam (right).

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