UNICycle – Creative upcycling of university waste

A project designed to evoke the creativity of the university community while contributing to a Zero Waste goal and raising awareness of upcycling.

University facilities continuously produce a large amount of waste, part of which manifests in the form of ’officially discarded’ equipments, furniture, electronics, books etc. The storage, logistics and disposal of these objects/materials requires considerable spending and efforts however not all of them are irrevocably garbage. Upcycling is an important component of the Zero Waste hierarchy (’Reuse’/’Recycle’). Through upcycling, new objects are produced by creatively reusing, all or in part, the objects as they are. Nowadays, upcycled objects, furnishings, jewellery etc. are undoubtedly in fashion (let us only look at the products offered by etsy.com or meska.hu). Similarly, DIY has perhaps never been more popular. UNICycle implements a creative approach to university Zero Waste goals combining the evaluation of institutional ’official disposal’ practices, the collection of creative upcycling ideas based on materials/objects ’to-be-discarded’ (see figure), and the active involvement of the university community through an upcycling-centered social event (lecture, creative workshop/cws, creative competition/cc). All these will bring about a more conscious approach to Zero Waste among students and staff participating at any stage of the project. Stage 1 – Evaluation & Brainstorming Incl. evaluation of ’official disposal’ practices based on data provided by the responsible Department; assessment of the types, amount and availability of ’to-be-discarded’ objects/materials; collection of creative ideas (and necessary equipment) fit for a cws/cc; reach-out to upcycling specialist(s) to be involved in the evaluation of the ideas as well as the UNICycle event Stage 2 – UNICycle event Incl. Zero Waste lecture; cws; cc. To be implemented in the frame of a general or sustainability-related university event aimed at students & staff Stage 3 – Follow-up Incl. DIY ideas to be made available in a digital format; cc winner objects to be exhibited/put to use in university public spaces; feasibility study of future UNICycle campaigns/events.

The project will address the whole university community. The lecture / cws / cc will be organized at a certain ELTE campus. In case the event will be repeated, another campus may be involved. Related digital materials to be available through ELTE’s website.

Materials necessary for the creative workshop (eg. glue, paint, brushes, nails, box cutters, scissors, rulers, small equipment, etc.) – cca. 50,000 HUFHonoraria of the Zero Waste/upcycling specialist(s) participating in the lecture a/o workshop – max. 50,000 HUF Logistics and storage of the ’to-be-discarded’ objects selected for the workshop/competition – cca. 40,000 HUF Prize(s) for the winner(s) of the UNICycle creative competition – cca. 20,000 HUF Other possible costs related to the implementation of the workshop/competition – cca. 10,000 HUF

Stage 1 (Evaluation & Brainstorming) and Stage 3 (Follow-up) can be carried out regardless of the pandemic situation with online research and meetings.Stage 2 (UNICycle event) earliest possible implementation in June 2021 (only open-air). However, we believe that the event would ideally be organized when COVID-19 restrictions are generally and permanently lifted and students/staff return to the university campuses; therefore we plan to organize the UNICycle event in Autumn 2021 Sep/Oct eg. in the frame of Campus Festival at the Trefort kert Campus, or endNov the latest in the frame of the European Week for Waste Reduction.