IMU Sustainability Student Club (IMUSUS) organized “Upcycling Workshop – Coaster Making” on April 17, 2025, open to the participation of community members. In the workshop hosted by the IMU Sustainability Office, coasters were produced with materials taken from the printing workshop, which were considered defective and became waste. Thus, they reduced the amount of waste by upcycling.
Stating that the IMU Sustainability Office has the goal of becoming a zero waste office, the academic advisor of the community, Res. Asst. Ayça ÇELİKBİLEK stated that their aim is not only to separate and collect waste, but also to go beyond this in waste management strategies and to transform it on site. In this context, ÇELİKBİLEK stated that the Sustainability Office carries out many social responsibility projects in partnership with the IMU Sustainability Community and explained that the aim of these projects is to include waste in the circular economy as well as to reduce the energy demand caused by the storage, transportation and recycling of waste. He pointed out that although cardboard shopping bags are more environmentally friendly than plastic bags, cardboard bags that are used more than needed also have the potential to create waste due to the accumulation effect. He stated that it is also difficult to recycle cardboard bags, which are covered with plastic material for durability. For this reason, he stated that their priorities are reduction policies, followed by reuse and upcycling methods.
Stating that they will continue the upcycling painting workshops, the community members informed that at the end of the project, each participant will complete one upcycling painting produced with the polyart technique and an exhibition will be opened with these works. They informed that those interested can follow this upcycling work developed to reduce the amount of waste produced within the campus areas and to support the zero waste policy of our University from the @surdurulebilir_imu instagram account.
