Evaluating two interventions for scaling up upcycling: Community event and upcycling plaza

Upcycling – creation or modification of a product from used or waste materials, components, and products for higher quality or value – incorporates multiple strategies for increasing material efficiency and provides other environmental, economic and social benefits. With a growing concern for the environment, the past few years have seen a growth of upcycling practitioners and businesses, yet despite such a growth, upcycling largely remains a niche and requires scaling-up to have a significant impact on the environment and society. For scaling up upcycling, several promising interventions have been suggested. This paper evaluates two of these: community event and upcycling plaza. Two case studies (on “Art with Upcycling” co-creation family event in Leicester, UK, and Seoul Upcycling Plaza in Seoul, South Korea) have been conducted using questionnaire, observation and interview studies. The results show that the community event made positive psychological impact on participants, and that many programmes run by the upcycling plaza were perceived as successful by stakeholders. Based on the aforementioned positive impact, these two interventions are recommended for prototyping, piloting and monitoring in other cities and countries for scaling up global upcycling.