100K Plastic Lids Create World's Tallest Recycled Mural

When Óscar Olivares looked at a blank building wall in San Salvador's Zacamil neighborhood, he saw something nobody else could: the world's tallest recycled mural waiting to happen.

The 28-year-old Venezuelan artist just completed a stunning 13-meter recreation of the Mona Lisa using more than 100,000 plastic lids collected by local residents and waste pickers. Building 88 in Zacamil now holds a world record that combines art, environmental action, and community pride in one colorful display.

This isn't Leonardo da Vinci's pale Renaissance lady. Olivares reimagined her as a dark-skinned woman with curly hair and expressive eyes, dressed in the blue and white of El Salvador's flag. He calls her the Salvadoran Mona Lisa, representing no one specific person but every ordinary citizen making their country better.

The lids came from residents of Zacamil and members of the National Association of Collectors and Recyclers of El Salvador. Olivares used each piece in its original color without any paint, making the sorting and selecting of materials part of the creative process itself. The Custom Made Stories Foundation and Full Painting company supported the project from start to finish.

Community participation wasn't just a nice touch. Neighbors and local organizations worked actively at every stage, turning what could have been one artist's project into a shared achievement that brought people together around both art and environmental responsibility.

THE RIPPLE EFFECT

Olivares has been creating large-scale murals from reused plastic across six countries since his first major work in 2020. His art now appears in 22 nations and has earned recognition at events like ArtExpo New York. But the real impact extends beyond museum walls and art fairs.

Each project transforms how communities see both waste and their own potential. What was once trash heading to landfills becomes public art that residents helped create. What was once a blank wall becomes a landmark that puts neighborhoods on the map.

For Zacamil specifically, Olivares sees this mural as one piece in the area's transformation into an open-air museum. The neighborhood isn't just getting decorated; it's being reimagined as a cultural destination where everyday people participate in making beauty from what others throw away.

The message embedded in every plastic lid is clear: ordinary citizens hold the power to create extraordinary change.