Making It Circular! Challenge 2021

The Making It Circular Challenge is a free-of-charge event on circular economy for plastics in Europe, taking place online on 29-30 September 2021.

The first day will set the scene of the circular maker practices in Europe, with presentations from UNESDA, Plastic Bank, Zero Waste Europe, the Declaration of Circular City, the Belgium circular and socially engaged leader company group Vites (Spit), the Fab Lab of Barcelona, and the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.

The first day (29 September) will focus on three themes:

  1. Institutions & Circular plastic: Making the circular city
  2. Research & Circular plastic: From research to circular making - State of the art in Europe
  3. Companies in the circular plastic: Innovative circular business models.

On the second day (30 September) participants in the competition will present their companies in line with the following three streams:

  1. Circular Plastic Products
  2. Circular Plastic ICT Tools
  3. Circular Plastic Social Enterprises.

Start-ups, small and medium enterprises, and makers from Europe are invited to showcase their best strategies, to compete and to attend the conference. Policymakers, companies and non-governmental organizations are also very welcome to attend the conference and join the round tables.

Participation is free, but registration is needed. Do you want to join the competition? Register as a competitor here. Do you want to attend the event and have an immersive experience in the latest news on circular plastic? Register for the event here.

The challenge is organised by the Pop-Machina project, a Horizon 2020 project that seeks to overcome environmental challenges by bringing scientific discoveries from the laboratory to the market. The project was born from the idea of showing that maker movements and the collaborative production model can lead countries towards a circular economy.

Pop-Machina involves 23 partners from 7 countries, who conduct research and innovate through pilot projects. Circular maker spaces are being set up in different cities across Europe. Pilot projects are being implemented in Belgium, Greece, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, and Turkey.