There’s a giant bee in downtown Riverhead — and it wants your empty bottles and cans.
A new bottle-guzzling sculpture was unveiled Tuesday in downtown Riverhead, near the River and Roots Community Garden and playground adjacent to the intersection of West Main Street and Griffing Avenue. The four-foot by seven-foot receptacle is made of mesh wire and recycled materials.
This is Riverhead Town’s second “litter critter”; a similarly eye-catching fish-shaped receptacle has been helping curb litter at Iron Pier Beach in Northville since last year.
The bee was designed and built by local sculptor Clayton Orehek and funded by the North Fork Environmental Council, a local environmental advocacy group. The organization raised about $4,500 for the project, NFEC Riverhead Vice President Lisa Gavales said.
“We’re hoping that children and adults alike will go to it, and the big bee will be the buzz of the town,” Gavales said.
Next to the sculpture is a QR code that links to an NFEC webpage with information about the importance of bees to the environment.
“We are so proud to bring these litter critters to our community,” said Joanne Rizzo, the chairperson of the Riverhead Anti-Litter Advisory Committee. “We take pride in our community. We want to help in our community, and we encourage people to volunteer. We have many events for the anti-litter committee in our community here, and we’re just so grateful that we’re able to do these nice, creative things.”
Park and Recreation Department staff, as well as local volunteers, will regularly empty the bee, Riverhead Parks Director Ashley Schandel said.
Most of the sculpture is made out of recycled materials, said Orehek, who also created many of the sculptures in the nearby Grangebel Park. The bee’s head is filled with crushed water bottles, and the wings are made from them. The top of the bee’s antennae are glass doorknobs from a yardsale, he said.
“Really, the only things I bought here over the counter were the eyes and some of the mesh — which is also recycled,” Orehek said.
The sculpture “should help people have an understanding of the importance of the environment, keeping litter out of the waterways, as well as off the streets,” Orehek added.
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