Upcycling of event materials – How to avoid waste

Most of us are familiar with this: The event/trade fair was a complete success – afterwards comes the task of dismantling equipment and disposing of mountains of (supposed) rubbish. Events are often associated with the production of materials that have reached the end of their useful life and must be disposed of. The fact that such short life cycles do not correspond to the optimal use of resources has been clear not only since Fridays for Future. The requirement "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" defines the resource-saving framework. Accordingly, in the sense of "Reduce", we must question which one-off productions are actually necessary and which can be dispensed with. In order to employ the options of "Reuse" in the second step, it is possible, for example, to dispense with annual figures in production and also to create an overview of the materials still available so that these can be taken into account immediately when planning the subsequent event. In the third step, "Recycle", all those materials are then taken care of which could not be dispensed with, but which cannot be used for subsequent events either. In order to breathe new life into these things, for example, through upcycling, the appropriate supply is needed.

In order to help event organisers and support them on the way to sustainability, some companies have already developed appropriate services. In this way, materials are creatively recycled and event organisers are offered an opportunity to avoid waste and pass on the materials in an uncomplicated way:

Trash Galore is primarily committed to rescuing materials from major events and providing it to social and creative initiatives. They invite major events to bring their leftover material as donations to where it is needed to minimise the ecological footprint and strengthen social responsibility.

Taking social and ecological responsibility as a company is more important today than ever before, which is why Trash Galore offers sustainable disposal for event productions. With little effort, you can avoid mountains of rubbish, save resources and promote creative projects. Individually adapted to the respective format and with effective publicity.

Have your event materials saved by Trash Galore from Leipzig!

Trash Galore

Avoid waste after your event and pass on materials with social initiatives like Trash Galore

Berlin hat es erneut geschafft, im Jahr 2022 den 5. Platz unter den weltweit führenden Metropolen im renommierten Global Destination Sustainability Index zu erreichen. Als Hauptstadt tut Berlin alles, um sich weiterhin als zukunftsfähiger Standort zu etablieren. Sogar bei Messepräsenzen setzt man auf Nachhaltigkeit: Für unseren beeindruckenden Auftritt bei der ITB-Messe haben wir uns an nachhaltigen Veranstaltungsrichtlinien ausgerichtet und gezielte Maßnahmen ergriffen.

Zum Beispiel haben wir mit einem nachhaltigkeitszertifizierten Cateringpartner zusammengearbeitet, um sicherzustellen, dass unser Essen ökologisch und verantwortungsbewusst ist. Um den Austausch von Visitenkarten zu reduzieren, haben wir außerdem eine Scan-App genutzt. Und anstatt neues Mobiliar zu kaufen, haben wir auf Mietmöbel gesetzt.

Nach der ITB haben wir Teile des Standbaumaterials an gemeinnützige Initiativen in Berlin weitergegeben. Dank dieser Maßnahme konnten wir über 990 kg Material vor der Entsorgung retten und somit fast fünf Tonnen CO2-Äquivalente (CO2eq) vermeiden. Wir sind stolz darauf, dass wir unseren kleinen Beitrag zur Rettung unserer Umwelt geleistet haben und werden auch in Zukunft weiterhin nachhaltige Lösungen in unserem Messeauftritt integrieren. Nachfolgend der Reuse Report von der ITB Berlin 2023 in Kooperation mit TRASH GALORE:

Trash Galore

Reuse Report ITB von Trash Galore

Material Mafia is a social enterprise that regards residual material from industry, trade fairs, exhibitions and the creative sector as a valuable resource and wants to make them available for reuse. This opens up the possibility of understanding waste as a resource and introducing it into a new cycle of use.

Their aim is to give materials a new life and purpose. Additionally, they offer education and environmental training in addition to material transfers and contract work.

Give materials a new life with the help of the local Berlin initiative Material Mafia.

The World Trash Center specialise in what they call "Eccentric art and funky furniture" from the consumer goods of the throwaway society. This furniture is made with a great deal of passion and is looking forward to a new home. Just the right thing if you are looking for extraordinary art objects and art furniture that are very individually designed and if you want to do something good for the environment.

This is definitely not mainstream, and perhaps remnants of your last event will find a new purpose in the World Trash Center.

Sustainable Meetings Berlin offers a wealth of information about sustainability as well as the chance to contact suitable sustainable partners and event services – helping turn “green ideas” into sustainable events, congresses or conferences, and supporting green meetings and incentives in Germany’s capital city.

Like to know more? Just email us at sustainable-meetings@visitBerlin.de.