Commissioned to Make a Statement: How Art and Waste Told a New Story at BSG LIVE’25

When TFI Lodestar began planning their sustainability zone for BSG LIVE’25 (the British Society of Gastroenterology's annual conference) at Glasgow’s SEC Centre, they didn’t want a standard stand build or a checklist of credentials. They wanted something thought-provoking. Something that would stop gastroenterologists in their tracks and challenge the waste they see every day in their clinical practice. That’s where Event Cycle came in.

Our brief was simple but ambitious: commission an art installation that incorporated expired medical waste that could speak to the environmental impact of endoscopic procedures. One single colonoscopy can generate up to 3kg of waste, and endoscopy units are among the highest waste-producing departments in hospitals. In the USA alone, endoscopic waste could fill more than 11 million bins a year (836 000 m3). The healthcare sector is responsible for around 6.3% of the UK’s total carbon emissions. Despite this, conversations about medical sustainability remain rare and uncomfortable.

So with this information, we turned waste into the message itself at the event.

Event Cycle collaborated with Healy Arts, a Glasgow-based charity led by sculptor Siobhan Healy, who is known for her work using reclaimed materials. Working with donated tubing, expired gastroenterology equipment, and supplies from the skip of the neighbouring enterprises to the charity, Healy created a striking freestanding plinth and sculpture, called “Waves of Waste” that visually interpreted the magnitude of endoscopic waste the event audience sees within their work. Every coil, curve, and component came from real-world discarded medical materials.

The sculpture formed the centrepiece of the sustainability stand at BSG LIVE’25, placed within a build crafted by Paradigm, who Event Cycle had previously introduced to TFI Lodestar. Paradigm used recycled event carpet transformed into modular exhibition tiles to construct a bold, reusable stand frame, creating a cohesive environment of circular design.

Delegates could walk around the sculpture installation, reflecting on their own role in the system while surrounded by statistics brought to life: 546kg of waste generated in just five days at a single endoscopy centre. Enough waste each year to fill 173 football fields to a depth of one metre. A process that relies on single-use tools, water-intensive sterilisation, and complex recycling logistics.

After the conference, the sculpture was donated to Beyond Limits, a rural charity in County Durham supporting mental health and social inclusion through creative therapy. They plan to adapt elements of the sculpture into tactile sensory projects and group sessions, giving it a second life as part of their Makers’ Table programme.

At the same time, another sustainability initiative was unfolding just a few metres away.

The graphics from the BSG LIVE’25 conference were made from stretch fabric, a high-quality material that’s not so easy to recycle. Rather than bin it, Event Cycle collected it to give it a second life instead. Working with Calluna Upcycling, a social enterprise supporting women with barriers to employment, 60 square metres of graphics were turned into 25 standard tote bags, 26 XL totes, and 15 laptop sleeves. Each one was handmade and ethically produced.

These new products were donated to community organisations across Glasgow including Glasgow Caring City, Amma Birth Companions and The Pyramid at Anderston Trust. For some, the bags are being used in skills academies and community shops to reduce reliance on single-use packaging. For others, they are providing a simple solution to vulnerable people navigating early parenthood or poverty.

This project also connected with a charity that empowers people through woodworking and reuse, ensuring that any wood leftover from the conference was repurposed rather than recycled. 

As well as repurposing used graphics and wood, the commissioned artwork showed that even the most overlooked forms of waste, like expired medical tubing, can tell a powerful story when placed in the right hands and setting of an event. 

The artwork started a conversation. Medical waste became a tool for change. And a live event delivered a legacy far beyond the venue.

If your next event needs to say something bigger, we can help you design for impact from the start: eventcycleuk@gmail.com