Elephants are facing an ecological crisis at Victoria Falls in Africa as they are victims of plastic pollution. The elephants scavenge the rubbish dumps surrounding the Falls ingesting plastics and other harmful waste. Fée Halsted and the Ardmore artists are helping to raise awareness of the elephant’s insidious enemy with their upcoming exhibition, Trunks in Trouble, being held this month in Capetown, South Africa.

The Ardmore team is supporting the essential work of the Ele-Collection, which provides a groundbreaking solution to this crisis. Instead of relying on traditional recycling, Ele-Collection employs advanced technology to convert all types of plastic waste into a valuable building aggregate, which can be used in construction.

Every month, 230 tons of plastic waste, the equivalent weight of 33 elephants, flood the areas surrounding Victoria Falls. The plastic waste the elephants ingest forms ulcers in their stomachs, causing them immense pain and increasing human-animal conflict as they become aggressive in their search for relief. Devastatingly, most cases of this ‘plasticosis’ result in the death of the animals affected.