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A photographer saved his trash for 4 years. These stunning photos are the result.

For four years, photographer Antoine Repessé saved his recyclable waste in different rooms of his apartment.

It piled high; each room separated by material. The 37-year-old photographer from Lille, France, also enlisted more than 200 of his friends and family members to join in too, each one adding some of their recyclables to the growing heaps. Before long, the floors were covered with cans, bottles, and cardboard — more than 70 cubic meters (about 183 square feet) of garbage. Finally, Repessé was ready.

GIF via Antoine Repessé Photographe.

In his photo series "#365Unpacked," Repasse put his waste to use to illustrate the importance of recycling and sustainable packaging.

The items were carefully sorted, and Repasse used them alongside his subjects to highlight the dramatic impact of the waste we produce.

"We're often told about the quantity of waste we produce but I think ... the impact of a picture can be much more powerful than tons of words," he writes in an emailed statement. "I tried to produce a perfect picture which got something disturbing because what I'm talking about isn't nice at all."

All photos are copyright of Antoine Repessé Photographe, used here with permission.

In each image, the model is meant to appear as if they are drowning in packaging...

...overcome with not only the sheer volume of waste, but a certain powerlessness to reverse the trend.

The highly composed and stylized photos are compelling. Each one took as long as 10 hours to produce.

Each shocking image forces the viewer to truly consider what happens to their waste when they dispose of it.

Does it drift out to sea? Get stuck in a landfill? Or is it recycled into something completely different?

Since #365Unpacked, Repessé has changed some of his habits too — starting with the way he eats.

The project made him more conscious of the containers and excessive packaging on frozen and convenience foods, like K-cups, so he's started cooking more. The change helps the environment and saves him money.

"To be involved in this project made me more conscious, but I'm still not perfect," Repessé says. He did, however, make sure to recycle or reuse all the waste after the photoshoots, so he's off to a good start.

Americans generate an estimated 4.4 pounds of waste each day, and recycle or compost just over 1.5 pounds of it, about 34%.

In 1990, that figure was only 16%. While we're improving, we can't celebrate just yet. Waste disposal and prevention is everyone's problem, and we must continue to fight for more green packaging, community recycling and compost programs, and continued education on recycling and waste management. As Repessé says, "...we just can't ignore we're responsible for this."

Joy

Airbnb host wakes his guest up in the middle of the night so she wouldn't miss the northern lights

Best. Host. Ever.

@penslucero/TikTok

Pency Lucero taking in the Northern Lights

Seeing the northern lights is a common bucket list adventure for many people. After all, it ticks a lot of boxes—being a dazzling light show, rich historical experience and scientific phenomenon all rolled into one. Plus there’s the uncertainty of it all, never quite knowing if you’ll witness a vivid streak of otherworldly colors dance across the sky…or simply see an oddly colored cloud. It’s nature’s slot machine, if you will.

Traveler and content creator Pency Lucero was willing to take that gamble. After thorough research, she stumbled upon an Airbnb in Rörbäck, Sweden with an actual picture of the northern lights shining above the cabin in the listing. With that kind of photo evidence, she felt good about her odds.

However, as soon as she landed, snow began falling so hard that the entire sky was “barely visible,” she told Upworthy. Martin, the Airbnb host, was nonetheless determined to do everything he could to ensure his guests got to see the spectacle, even offering to wake Lucero up in the middle of the night if he saw anything.

Then one night, the knock came.

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nature

Education

Germany's most famous castle isn't a real castle. It's an elaborate 'work of fan fiction.'

Though it looks medieval, it was built in the 19th century by an eccentric "fairy tale king" who spent much of his life constructing his own elaborate fantasy world.

Public Domain

Neuschwanstein Castle sits atop a rock ledge in the Bavarian Alps.

Even if you haven't heard of Neuschwanstein Castle, there's a good chance you've at least seen pictures of it. Set atop a tree-covered rock ledge in the Bavarian Alps, the picturesque castle looks like it was conjured straight out of a fairy tale. In fact, it served as inspiration for Disney Imagineers as they designed "Sleeping Beauty's Castle" in Disneyland, and it's regularly named the top castle to visit in Germany.

There are estimated to be around 25,000 castles in Germany, but Neuschwanstein is unique among them. Most notably, it's not a real castle and never was. While it bears the look and feel of a well-preserved medieval castle, it was actually built in the 19th century, and rather than serving as a fortress, it served as the fantasy castle of an eccentric king obsessed with Richard Wagner's operas and medieval mythology.

Ludwig II came to the Bavarian throne in 1864 at age 18 with no experience in government or politics. Two years later, Prussia conquered Austria and Bavaria, and Ludwig's powerful status as king was greatly diminished. Not that he was particularly interested in governance anyway; he was more drawn to the romantic idea of having his own kingdom.

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interesting history

Pop Culture

People are loving this Amazon delivery driver for warning a woman that her house is 'unsafe'

Great info, even better delivery.

TikTok

Delivering packages AND safety.

Amazon delivery drivers don’t have the easiest job in the world. Sitting through traffic, working in extreme temperatures, hauling boxes … not exactly a fun time. So when a driver goes out of their way to be extra considerate—people notice.

One delivery driver has gone viral for the way she delivered a little bit of safety education, along with some lighthearted advice. The TikTok video of the encounter, which now has more than 4 million views, was shared by Jessica Huseman, who had only recently moved into her new house.

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acts of kindness

Science

Conjoined twins with fused brains separated; surgeons practiced for months in virtual reality

Arthur and Bernardo finally get to see each other face to face.

Image by sasint/Canva

Surgeons prepared to separate 3-year-old conjoined twins in Brazil using virtual reality.

The things human beings have figured out how to do boggles the mind sometimes, especially in the realm of medicine.

It wasn't terribly long ago that people with a severe injury had to liquor up, bite a stick, have a body part sewn up or sawed off and hope for the best. (Sorry for the visual, but it's true.) The discoveries of antibiotics and anesthesia alone have completely revolutionized human existence, but we've gone well beyond that with what our best surgeons can accomplish.

Surgeries can range from fairly simple to incredibly complex, but few surgeries are more complicated than separating conjoined twins with combined major organs. That's why the recent surgical separation of conjoined twin boys with fused brains in Brazil is so incredible.

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Pop Culture

People share the 18 things that are a 'subtle sign' someone is really smart

"They effortlessly communicate complex concepts in a simple way."

via PixaBay

Albert Einstein

One of the strangest things about being human is that people of lesser intelligence tend to overestimate how smart they are and people who are highly intelligent tend to underestimate how smart they are.

This is called the Dunning-Kruger effect and it’s proven every time you log onto Facebook and see someone from high school who thinks they know more about vaccines than a doctor.

The interesting thing is that even though people are poor judges of their own smarts, we’ve evolved to be pretty good at judging the intelligence of others.