From Trash to Treasure: Creating Sustainable Memories

"From Trash to Treasure: Creating Sustainable Memories" is a participatory workshop that explores the relationship between memory and sustainability. Rather than simply teaching participants how to sort waste correctly, the project uses games, embodied action, observation, and collaborative making to reactivate people’s understanding of recycling and their responses to it.
During the workshop, participants first take part in three rounds of waste-sorting games: relying on their existing knowledge, using their phones to search for information, and then referring to official guidance. This process reveals that what we assume to be “common knowledge” about sustainability often contains misunderstandings and inaccuracies. Participants are then invited to walk through Kensington, observe real bins and recycling systems, and apply their new knowledge within an everyday environment. Finally, they create a small zine using different materials, transforming objects commonly seen as “waste” into carriers of personal memory and meaning.
The project suggests that sustainable behaviour is not formed through knowledge-based education alone. Instead, it requires repeated experience, emotional connection, and personal storytelling to rebuild the relationship between people and materials. When “trash” is looked at, touched, and narrated again, it is no longer merely something to be disposed of, but becomes an entry point for connecting memory, action, and responsibility.