“The Last Straw Project” was created as part of an awareness campaign for World Environment Day, in partnership with Costa Coffee and Dubai Airports.

The campaign included phasing out Costa Coffee’s existing single-use plastic straws to a more environmentally friendly option and also to encourage people to skip the straw.

The globe was created from a repurposed football, used at one of the FIFA World Cup fan parks. The surface was covered using 60,000 of Costa’s leftover single-use plastic straws and painted blue and green to create the globe.

The piece was first exhibited at the world’s busiest international airport for all passengers to see. Afterwards, it was moved to one of Costa Coffee’s flagship stores in Dubai. The globe served as a reminder to all, to take greater care of our planet. Every effort we make makes a difference. No matter how big or small, something as small as skipping the straw might just save an animal’s life.

Title: “The Last Straw Project”

Dimensions: 2200mm x 2200mm x 2200mm*

Medium: Plastic straws, fibreglass, steel and PU Paint

About the author, Mariska

Hi and welcome! My name is Mariska. I am originally from South Africa, but now call the world my home. I am an artist, designer, environmentalist, podcast host and speaker.

I started the Mama Earth Talk podcast in 2018 to share some of the things that I learned about just how easy it can be to reduce your impact on the environment. This then quickly grew into a forum that showcases the amazing things that many people are doing to make the planet better, and further into a source of hope and inspiration for many. A few of the amazing guests include Zero Waste Queen, Bea Johnson, Claude Silver, Kathryn Kellogg and zero waste chef Max La Manna.

If you do not already I urge you to follow me and my journey on social media (@designbymariska), and to refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot your own waste using the handy tips I post!