Call for Papers: International Upcycling Festival 2024

Upcycling is a promising, circular-economy-based, green solution utilising multiple innovative material processes involving minimisation of waste and toxicity, saving in energy and water, and reduction in emissions and pollution, in order to transform used/waste products and materials into new/modified products and materials with higher quality and/or values compared to the compositional elements. Upcycling not only benefits the environment, but also creates new job opportunities and contributes to people’s psychological wellbeing (as a ‘prosumer’ who upcycles items at home and as an ethical consumer who purchases upcycled goods). Multidisciplinary approaches are required to understand upcycling in businesses (e.g. sustainable manufacturers, eco-enterprises) and households (e.g. sustainable consumer behaviour or lifestyle), and promote upcycling through appropriate interventions (e.g. policies).

This first International Upcycling Festival in Leicester, UK, in 2024 aims to enhance our understanding of upcycling in theory and practice in businesses (of design, making, production or waste management) and the consumption domain (as behaviour or lifestyle) drawing on different disciplines, sectors and socio-cultural contexts. It will promote upcycling internationally with three objectives: (i) to have a traditional, academic conference to advance knowledge; (ii) to engage with upcycling businesses for a direct positive impact on their practices; and (iii) to engage with the general public to raise awareness of upcycling. The focus of the conference is how we could work together across disciplines, sectors and countries/regions to scale up upcycling for significant positive impact on the environment, society and people. 

Key dates:

• Paper submission deadline - 31st July 2023
• Authors notified - September 2023

For further details on how to submit a paper, please click HERE