From site visits to panel discussions, ARCS showcases cutting-edge research and industry partnerships driving circular economy innovation across Wales.
The ARCS team had a busy three days at the Circular Economy Hotspot Cymru event. Our schedule was jam-packed, featuring panel discussions, an exhibition showcasing our collaborations with local businesses, and even hosting a site tour.
International events like the Hotspot provide a valuable platform for connecting professionals across diverse sectors, encouraging collective action and shared learning. With key discussions taking place on the main stage, we were thrilled to present real-world examples of the circular economy in action, highlighting our work with businesses throughout South-West Wales.
Left to right: Maxwell Green, Hannah Morris, Gavin Bunting, Myhrden Major
Tuesday 8th
ARCS was chosen as one of only 20 exhibitors at the international event, allowing the team to display physical examples from our work with businesses — bringing the voice and experience of companies actively applying circular principles to the room:
- Art of Eco — Decentralised Manufacturing: Making use of waste where it is created
- Dan Thomas Engineering — Behaviour Change: How can festivals meet the Welsh Workplace Recycling Legislation?
- Green Up Farm — Cycling Pathways: Applying circular design to keep materials in use
- Lux Biotech and La Crème Patisserie — Industrial Symbiosis: Using waste to treat pollution
- Slowly — Circular Packaging Options: Scaling gourmet mushroom production
- Smile Plastics — Circularity at Scale: Driving innovation in sustainable design
- Zombie Plastics — Circular start-ups: Supporting financial sustainability
You can read more of the companies featured, and the projects we have been collaborating on here >> https://bit.ly/3XXh7Fx
In the afternoon, ARCS leads Professor Gavin Bunting and Max Green, who also run the Circular Economy Research and Innovation Group Wales (CERIG), took centre stage during ‘The Impact of Academia: research, skills and innovation’ breakout sessions.
Professor Bunting chaired the first panel on Front End Circular Innovation, showcasing the world-leading research of Welsh Universities; and was joined by Professor Sandra Esteves, Professor Cameron Pleydell-Pearce, and Chief Scientific Advisor for Wales, Professor Jas Pal Badyal FRS.
Max joined the second panel, chaired by Dr Katie Beverley, along with Dr Kersty Hobson and Dr Nadine Leder to discuss the theme ‘Achieving Circular Economies’; focusing on practical strategies for circular solutions, the impact of applied research, and the skills needed to support circular futures. Both discussions highlighted how Welsh academia is driving real-world impact in the transition to a circular economy in Wales and beyond.
Wednesday 9th
On the final day of the event, ARCS hosted a packed site visit on the theme of Circular Business and the Triple Helix Model of Innovation to demonstrate how Government, Industry and Academia are collaborating to catalyse circular innovation.
In the morning, delegates visited ARCS-supported company Techlan, a company based in Llanelli that has been developing a reverse logistics system for their already circular product. They then headed to Swansea University’s Bay Campus for a networking lunch with more ARCS alumni businesses.
Dr Rhys Charles and Professor Trystan Watson, from the SPECIFIC research group, also provided a tour of the Active Buildings on campus to show how academic expertise is being leveraged for industrial innovation in the built environment. The site visit concluded at the state-of-the-art labs of the Pilot Manufacturing Resource Centre in Baglan Energy Park, where the technology used on the active buildings is developed and tested to ensure it can be created with scalable manufacturing methods.
