From Cowboys to Astronauts – moving towards a circular economy

From Cowboys to Astronauts is an art from waste exhibition promoting the concept of a circular economy – a regenerative economic system, where materials and energy from products are recovered and put back into the system, as opposed to simply being disposed of. At the heart of the circular economy is the thought that all materials should be returned into useful products and continue in the cycle.

The artists have been working with the Centre for Alternative Materials and Remanufacturing Technologies (CALMARE), a business technology centre, part funded by the ERDF, based at the University. Waste materials have been sourced from the University itself and from other locations around Devon, including Exeter and Plymouth Scrapstores, Peninsula Waste Savers in Okehampton and the Devon County Council landfill sites managed by SITA.

In recent years, as resource prices have risen and waste problems increased, there has been greater interest in developing a "Circular Economy" – and the opportunity has been widely promoted by the Dame Ellen MacArthur Foundation founded in 2010 by the former professional yachtswoman.

The exhibition is taking place at the Enviro Hub, Devon Contract Waste, Exeter. Entry to the exhibition will be free, and it will be open to the public from Monday to Saturday, excluding Bank Holidays, from Monday, April 27th, until the final Friday, May 22nd 2015. For more details, visit the Arts and Cultures website