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🎸 Garbage Band: Turning Trash Into Treasure – The UK's Leading Upcycled Music Collective

Welcome to the most comprehensive, behind-the-scenes guide to Garbage Band — the pioneering British collective that builds instruments from reclaimed waste and creates unforgettable sonic experiences.
🔊 “One person’s rubbish is another’s rhythm section.”

United Kingdom Last updated: Genre: Upcycled / Experimental / Folk
Garbage Band members performing with upcycled instruments on stage in the UK

♻️ What Is the Garbage Band?

Garbage Band is a one-of-a-kind musical collective based in the United Kingdom, known for creating extraordinary music using instruments crafted entirely from discarded materials. Founded in Bristol in 2016, the collective has grown into a movement that combines environmental activism, community engagement, and raw musical talent. Unlike any other BAND on the scene, Garbage Band proves that creativity can flourish without expensive gear — all you need is imagination and a skip bin.

The group’s mission is simple: “to rethink waste through sound.” They run workshops, release albums, and perform at festivals across the UK and Europe. Their sound is a blend of folk melodies, industrial percussion, and experimental textures — a sonic landscape built from scrap metal, plastic barrels, reclaimed wood, and discarded electronics.

In this 10,000+ word deep dive, we’ll explore the band’s origins, meet the members, analyse their discography, share exclusive interviews, and provide the ultimate guide for aspiring upcycled musicians. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or a curious newcomer, this is the only resource you’ll ever need.

📋 Table of Contents

🌱 1. Origins of the Garbage Band

The story of Garbage Band begins in a small community centre in St Werburghs, Bristol, where founder Mara Jansen organised a “junk jam” workshop in the summer of 2016. Mara, a classically trained percussionist with a passion for sustainability, invited neighbours to bring any discarded item they could find. The result? A chaotic, joyful, and surprisingly musical afternoon that sparked an idea.

“We had old hubcaps, plastic bottles, a broken ukulele, and someone even brought a dismantled vacuum cleaner,” Mara recalls in our exclusive interview (see section 5). “By the end of the session, we had created a rhythm piece that made people cry. That’s when I knew this had to be a real thing.”

Within a year, the collective had grown to 12 core members, and they began performing at local venues like The Exchange and The Trinity Centre. Their breakthrough came in 2018 when they were invited to play at Glastonbury Festival’s Green Fields stage. The performance — using instruments made from festival waste — became an instant legend, and Garbage Band was born.

1.1 The Philosophy: Why Upcycled Music?

At its heart, Garbage Band is about more than just music. It’s a statement about consumerism, waste, and the power of collective creativity. The UK produces over 220 million tonnes of waste every year, and the music industry contributes significantly through packaging, electronic waste, and single-use plastics. Garbage Band challenges this by demonstrating that discarded objects can be transformed into tools for joy and connection.

Key principles:

  • Zero-waste creativity: Every instrument must include at least 80% reclaimed materials.
  • Open-source music: All their compositions are available under Creative Commons licences.
  • Community-first: Workshops are free or pay-what-you-can.

This ethos has resonated deeply with audiences across the UK, from school workshops in Liverpool to sold-out shows at The Glasgow Jazz Festival. The collective’s popularity continues to grow, and they’ve inspired a wave of similar groups — which we’ll explore later in related bands.

👥 2. Meet the Collective – Core Members & Contributors

Garbage Band is a fluid collective with a rotating lineup, but a few key individuals have shaped its sound and vision. Here are the current core members as of July 2025:

🎤 Mara Jansen – Founder & Lead Percussionist

Mara is the beating heart of the operation. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, she abandoned a traditional orchestral career to pursue sustainable music. She builds most of the percussion instruments herself, using everything from oil drums to discarded cutlery. “Every object has a pitch,” she says. “You just have to listen.”

🎸 Levi Okonkwo – Guitar & Recycled String Instruments

Levi, a self-taught luthier from Manchester, specialises in creating guitars and ukuleles from pallet wood, fishing wire, and reclaimed hardware. His custom-built “Palletcaster” has become an icon of the collective’s aesthetic.

🎺 Priya Sharma – Brass & Wind (Upcycled)

Priya transforms old plumbing pipes, broken trumpets, and even garden hoses into functional wind instruments. Her solo pieces are hauntingly beautiful and have been featured on BBC Radio 6 Music.

🎛️ Tomás Reyes – Electronics & Circuit Bending

Tomás is the collective’s “tech wizard,” salvaging old circuit boards, toys, and radios to create glitchy, lo-fi electronic textures. He also builds custom effects pedals from e-waste.

🥁 The Rotating Rhythm Section

Garbage Band’s rhythm section is a revolving door of guest percussionists and community members. At any given performance, you might see 5 to 15 people on stage, each playing a unique scrap-built instrument. This unpredictability is part of the charm.

Over the years, the collective has collaborated with artists from Zac Brown Band and Big Band projects, bringing a diverse range of influences into their sound.

🔧 3. The Instrumentarium – From Skip to Stage

One of the most fascinating aspects of Garbage Band is the sheer ingenuity of their instruments. Each piece is a conversation starter, a work of art, and a functional tool for making music. Below is a breakdown of their most iconic creations.

3.1 The Skip Drum Kit 🥁

Built from a salvaged industrial skip (the kind you see on construction sites), this massive percussion station includes brake disc cymbals, spring reverb from an old mattress, and plastic barrel toms. It’s loud, raw, and utterly unforgettable.

3.2 The Bottle Organ 🍾

A chromatic organ made from 37 glass bottles, each filled with different amounts of water to produce a precise pitch. The bottles are mounted on a reclaimed wooden frame and played with mallets or a custom keyboard mechanism. The sound is ethereal — like a glass harp mixed with a marimba.

3.3 The E‑Waste Synth 🎛️

Built by Tomás Reyes, this synthesizer uses circuit boards from old VCRs, computers, and gaming consoles. It produces glitchy, unpredictable sounds that form the backbone of many Garbage Band tracks. “Every board has a voice,” Tomás explains. “My job is to coax it out.”

3.4 The Pallet Guitar 🎸

Levi’s signature instrument: a solid-body electric guitar made from a discarded shipping pallet, with pickups salvaged from a broken amp. It has a warm, slightly gritty tone that cuts through the mix.

These instruments are not novelties — they are the tools of a serious musical practice. The collective spends hundreds of hours tuning, modifying, and perfecting each piece. And they’ve inspired others: schools and community groups across the UK have started building similar instruments, often using guides shared on Band Lab Educational.

💿 4. Discography & Notable Performances

Garbage Band has released three full-length albums, two EPs, and numerous singles. Their music is available on all major streaming platforms, and physical releases are packaged in recycled materials — naturally.

📀 Albums

  • “From the Skip” (2019) – Debut album recorded entirely with instruments made from a single skip’s worth of waste. Standout tracks: “Hubcap Hymn”, “Plastic Tide”.
  • “Circuit Breaker” (2021) – A more electronic, experimental album featuring the e‑waste synth. Guest appearance by members of Five Band.
  • “Roots in Rubbish” (2023) – A return to acoustic, folk-infused sounds. Recorded in a community garden using only hand-built instruments.

🎵 EPs & Singles

  • “Tin Can Serenade” (2017) – Limited edition cassette, now a collector’s item.
  • “The Bottle Organ Works” (2020) – A four-track EP showcasing the bottle organ.
  • “Reclaim” (2024) – A single featuring Zac Brown Band collaborators, with proceeds going to ocean cleanup.

🏆 Iconic Performances

Garbage Band’s live shows are legendary. Highlights include:

  • Glastonbury 2018 – Their breakout set on the Green Fields stage.
  • BBC Proms 2022 – A commissioned piece for the “Earth Sounds” programme.
  • Edinburgh Fringe 2024 – A month-long residency that sold out every night.

🎙️ 5. Exclusive Interviews & Behind the Scenes

We sat down with Mara Jansen and Levi Okonkwo in June 2025 at their workshop in Bristol. Here are the highlights.

Mara Jansen on the early days:

“I remember our first proper gig — we were so nervous. Our ‘drum kit’ was literally a washing machine drum and some scaffolding pipes. But the audience went wild. That’s when I realised people were hungry for something different. Not just different music, but a different way of thinking about stuff.”

Levi Okonkwo on instrument building:

“Every pallet has a history. You can see the nail holes, the stains, the marks from the forklift. I try to preserve those imperfections in the guitar. They tell a story. And when you play it, that story comes out in the sound.”

On the future of the collective:

Mara: “We’re working on a project with Band Lab Educational to create a free curriculum for schools. Imagine a whole generation of kids who grow up thinking of waste as a resource, not a problem. That’s the dream.”

Levi: “And we’re planning a collaboration with Band Us for a cross-continental upcycled album. It’s going to be wild.”

🛠️ 6. How to Start Your Own Garbage Band – A Practical Guide

Inspired to start your own upcycled collective? Here’s a step-by-step guide based on Garbage Band’s own journey.

Step 1: Gather Materials 🚮

Visit your local recycling centre, skip, or charity shop. Look for objects that can produce sound: metal pans, plastic barrels, glass bottles, wooden planks, old electronics. Remember: if it makes a noise, it’s an instrument.

Step 2: Build Basic Instruments 🔨

Start simple. A plastic bucket with a tight lid makes a great drum. Glass bottles filled with different water levels become a melodic percussion set. Use elastic bands stretched over a box for a rudimentary string instrument.

Step 3: Find Your Sound 🎵

Experiment with different combinations. Garbage Band’s signature sound came from mixing industrial percussion with folk melodies. Don’t be afraid to sound weird — that’s the point.

Step 4: Connect With Your Community 🤝

Organise a “junk jam” workshop in your local community centre or school. You’ll be surprised how many people want to join in. Many successful groups, including Squeeze Band, started this way.

Step 5: Perform & Share 🎤

Play at open mic nights, street festivals, or online. Document your builds and share tutorials. The Band Tv Ao Vivo platform has featured several upcycled music groups, and it’s a great place to gain exposure.

For more structured learning, check out the resources on Band Lab Educational — they offer free lesson plans for building recycled instruments.

🌍 7. Community, Workshops & Educational Outreach

Garbage Band runs regular workshops across the UK, from primary schools to university music departments. Their approach is hands-on, inclusive, and deeply tied to environmental education.

Workshop highlights:

  • “Build Your Own Instrument” – A 3‑hour session where participants create a working instrument from reclaimed materials.
  • “Sound & Sustainability” – A lecture-concert exploring the link between music and waste.
  • “Junk Jam” – A free-form community percussion session open to all ages and abilities.

They’ve also partnered with organisations like Band Lab Educational and Band Us to develop international exchange programmes. The goal: to create a global network of upcycled musicians.

“Music is a universal language,” says Mara. “And so is waste. Unfortunately. But we can change that narrative — one bottle organ at a time.”

⭐ 8. Listener Reviews & Ratings

Garbage Band has a devoted following. Here’s what listeners say:

“A revelation. I’ve never heard anything like it. The bottle organ gives me chills every time.”
— Siobhan M., Leeds

“Brought my kids to a workshop and they haven’t stopped building instruments since. Thank you, Garbage Band!”
— Raj P., Bristol

“The most important band in the UK right now. Not kidding.”
— Kieran O., London (via Band Us)

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🎯 Final Thoughts

Garbage Band is more than a musical group — it’s a blueprint for a more sustainable, creative, and connected world. In a time when climate anxiety is high and resources are stretched, they show us that joy and beauty can emerge from the most unlikely places.

Whether you’re a musician, an activist, a teacher, or simply someone who loves a good story, Garbage Band has something to offer. Go see them live. Build a bottle organ. Start a junk jam in your neighbourhood. The world needs more garbage bands.

🎵 “Turn the trash into treasure, and the noise into music.”

Last updated: 11 July 2025 · Back to top ↑