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Turning Trash into Treasure with Upcycling
Turning Trash into Treasure with Upcycling
Sobre
What
Turning Trash into Treasure with Upcycling was an international creative empowerment experience that ran in Eindhoven from June to September 2025. The experience was designed as an MDT (maatschappelijke diensttijd) program for youth personal and professional development through social service and subsidized by the Dutch government.
The program attracted people of different countries, ages, skills, and interests who prepared a collaborative contribution to Maker Days 2025—a festival for technology, creativity, and innovation happening annually in front of City Hall Eindhoven. The highlight of Maker Days each year is the Future Parade, a celebratory procession through downtown Eindhoven.
At its core, the program explored how waste can become a context for connection, learning, and growth. Through a mix of online empowerment sessions, hands-on upcycling workshops across Eindhoven, and long-distance mentorship under the unifying theme Sustainable Society, participants explored and discovered the unseen value of discarded items and turned them into a collaborative showcase of interconnected immersive upcycled installations.
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Who
The program united two groups:
● Participants aged 12–30, officially enrolled in MDT. Neurotypical and neurodivergent, male, female, non-binary, and gender-reassigned, they explored self-expression, skill-building, teamwork, and personalized developmental pathways supported by one-on-one coaching.
● Volunteers over 30 years old from more than 10 countries and multiple generations—many of them recovering from burnout — who joined independently, motivated by their fascination with creativity, sustainability, and community.
Together, the participants formed a blended team of dreamers and makers. Some focused on hands-on upcycling, others supported logistics, and many mentored or coached fellow program participants to help them gain confidence for the public showcase. Along the way, participants formed friendships, mentorships, creative collaborations, and even romantic connections.
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When
The program unfolded across the summer of 2025, culminating in a two-day showcase at Maker Days on September 27–28. While the program had its timeline, the impact continues: proof of what becomes possible when creativity, sustainability, and community intersect.
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Where
Preparations took place in workshops, studios, and shared community spaces across Eindhoven—TEXTIELLAB-040, Studio Dingen, Pizza Geert, and Emmaus — where participants learned basic upcycling skills and transformed discarded items into new forms of value.
The program culmination was the team participation at Maker Days in front of City Hall Eindhoven, a city-wide event celebrating innovation, sustainable practices, and the power of community.
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Why
This initiative set out to address two urgent issues:
● Social disconnection → by creating spaces where people of different ages, cultures, and backgrounds could learn and grow together.
● Overconsumption → by showing that discarded materials can be reimagined into functional, beautiful, and meaningful creations.
By giving participants the freedom to choose how they wanted to contribute—whether through making, logistics, concept design, or mentoring—the program became more than a training ground. It evolved into a collaborative project where everyone left their mark.
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How
The curriculum was intentionally flexible and participant-driven. Rather than following a fixed plan, the program adapted to the skills, ideas, and contributions of its participants.
From installation design and assembly to logistical planning and peer coaching, every participant shaped the outcome of Sustainable Society—the collective project that tied six upcycled installations together into one immersive experience for the Maker Days visitors:
● Pre-loved Textiles
● Rolling Exhibition
● Trash Sleigh (mobile gifting station)
● Living Sculpture
● Edible Art
● Trash Sound
The result was a truly collaborative environment—where creativity, sustainability, and community converged to transform discarded items into treasures, and strangers into a team.
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Program Workshop Series
The following workshops formed the backbone of the program, blending hands-on creative reuse with personal and professional development, culminating in the showcase and parade during Maker Days 2025.
1. Give New Life to Old Textiles: Introduction to Sustainable Screen Printing
Participants learned sustainable screen printing basics and creative reuse techniques to transform discarded textiles into personalized outfits and accessories.
2. Build Musical Instruments from Discarded Items
Participants crafted functional musical instruments from trash. These became part of the Trash Orchestra featured at Maker Days.
3. From Waste to Wonder: Give New Life to Old Coffee Grounds
Participants learned to turn used coffee grounds into functional and playful creations—flower pots, ornaments, game pieces, and more—raising awareness of circular material use.
4. Give New Life to Old Textiles: Introduction to Patchwork, Crochet, and Sewing
Participants explored simple textile upcycling techniques, making patches and accessories in black, white, and red. These became part of the branding for the project at Maker Days.
5. Give New Life to an Old Dutch Design Week Installation
Participants collaborated to upcycle an old Dutch Design Week installation into a multimedia rolling exhibition, using only discarded materials. They designed and built a mounting system for screens to display Maker Days content and turned the installation into an immersive unit inviting event visitors to contribute their ideas on how trash can become treasure.
6. Give New Life to a Discarded Utility Trailer
Participants cleaned, repaired, and decorated a discarded utility trailer and together turned it into a mobile gifting station and moving platform for Maker Days.
7. Give New Life to Discarded Clothing Shop Decor
Participants experimented with serving simple food (skewers) in unusual ways, using discarded styrofoam body parts as catering platforms—turning “waste” into avant-garde edible installations.
8. Performance Confidence: Own the Stage, Own Your Story
Participants learned how to use playful improv techniques to gain confidence, spontaneity, and stage presence. The workshop prepared the team for walking in the Future Parade and engaging the public during Maker Days with style.
9. Casual Pizza Nights @ Pizza Geert
Weekly Friday evening sessions where participants bonded over food, brainstormed ideas, and planned project logistics. These gatherings built the social fabric of the program.
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In Their Own Words
"What a wild adventure this has been! Together we explored the unseen value of ‘trash’—from textiles and wood to styrofoam body shapes and wire-mesh mannequins. We connected, created, and collaborated in ways that enabled everyone to contribute their skills and develop in areas that intrigued them. This wasn’t just about creativity—it was about proving that when people come together with curiosity and imagination, we create something unforgettable with timeless value."
(c) credits activiteiten cover: Bertelli fotografia
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Wat gaan we doen, onze activiteiten
- Soft launch
- Start
- Persoonlijk leerpad
- Workshops & Labs
- Projectmatige samenwerking
- Documentatie & Reflectie
- Finale Tijdens de Future Parade presenteren
Tarefas
Task no.1
Issued by organiser or scanning QR code
Soft launch (27 juni 2025) – introductiesessie bij station Eindhoven, kennismaken met de visie en het opbouwen van community.
Task no.2
Issued by organiser or scanning QR code
Start (5 juli 2025) – begin van een 10-weekse leercyclus met wekelijkse Creative Empowerment Sessions op vrijdagen, verspreid over locaties in Eindhoven.
Task no.3
Issued by organiser or scanning QR code
Persoonlijk leerpad – intakegesprek om doelen, talenten en leerwensen in kaart te brengen.
Task no.4
Issued by organiser or scanning QR code
Workshops & Labs – sessies met experts (o.a. Geert Tiersma, Janine Wetzel, Jamie van Duuren) rond textiel-upcycling, design en tech-art. Jongeren experimenteren met materialen en technieken.
Task no.5
Issued by organiser or scanning QR code
Projectmatige samenwerking – Jongeren werken alleen of in teams aan creatieve projecten, bijvoorbeeld het omvormen van installaties tot parade-objecten.
Task no.6
Issued by organiser or scanning QR code
Documentatie & Reflectie – iedere jongere houdt een eigen leer- en creatiejournaal bij (tekst, beeld, audio of video). Dit wordt verwerkt in een einddocumentaire over het programma.
Task no.7
Issued by organiser or scanning QR code
Finale Tijdens de Future Parade presenteren de deelnemers hun creaties en performances aan een groot publiek. Ze treden op als team van makers en changemakers, zichtbaar in de stad en verbonden met de lokale gemeenschap.
Organizadores
MDT Plus Eindhoven
A Badgecraft roda uma infra-estrutura web para Cidades e Regiões de Aprendizagem. O consórcio Europeu desenvolve esta plataforma com o co-financiamento do programa da União Europeia Erasmus+
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