E-waste Exchange: How discarded vapes can be transformed into new objects
Primary school students from across South Dublin County visited the Technological University Dublin Bolton Street campus for a hands-on workshop during Green Week 2026 to exchange perspectives on vaping, explore material circularity, and to develop a deeper understanding of the environmental impacts of vaping.
The co-design workshop was delivered through a collaboration between TU Dublin’s Product Design programme, TU Dublin Societal Engagement, South Dublin County Council and local schools participating in the South Dublin Junior Safety Forum and Escape the Vape initiative.
A total of 42 attendees took part in the visit, including 36 sixth-class students and six teachers from five schools: Citywest & Saggart National School, St Ronan’s National School in Clondalkin, St Thomas Senior National School in Jobstown, Divine Mercy Senior National School in Balgaddy, and St Dominic’s Senior National School in Tallaght.
During the visit, students shared their experiences and observations around vaping in their communities while learning about material circularity and the environmental consequences of e-waste. Through a collaborative workshop, participants worked alongside university staff and design students to explore how discarded vape devices collected by school children and community organisations in the South Dublin County area could be transformed into new, useful objects, demonstrating how waste materials can inspire collaborative innovation.
The workshop was led by Ceri Almrott with TU Dublin Product Design staff, Keith Colton and Aija Freimane , with contributions from Ina O’Connor, and support from six final-year students from the TU811 BSc Product Design programme: Cosmin Clopotaru, Louise Hackett, Diarmuid Dunne, Ella Flanagan, Oisín King and Patrycja Kukielka.
Ceri Almrott, Assistant Lecturer at TU Dublin’s School of Art and Design said:
"This project shows what can happen when Universities, local government and communities work together. The young people came to TU Dublin not just to learn, but to share what they had discovered around their schools and homes, to help us turn a growing environmental problem into inspiration for new and future design solutions."
"Projects like this give our design students the chance to engage with real environmental challenges. Hearing directly from young people about what they see in their communities helps inspire more thoughtful and responsible design."
Representatives from South Dublin County Council were also in attendance, including Maria Nugent (Administrative Officer), Lucy Cush (Healthy South Dublin Coordinator) and Lorraine Beirne (Climate Change and Environmental Awareness Officer).
Lucy Cush said:
“It was a fantastic opportunity for the SDCC Junior Safety Forum students to further explore and develop their Escape the Vape initiative. It highlights how powerful young people’s voices can be when their ideas are recognised and supported by partners such as Healthy Ireland, SDCC’s Environment Department and TU Dublin. I have no doubt that this visit will encourage these young people to continue to drive change in their communities.”
Helena Fitzgerald, Head of Societal Engagement at TU Dublin, said:
“This collaboration demonstrates how TU Dublin can be responsive to issues experienced by our neighbouring communities in a creative, fun and constructive way. I can't wait to see what TU Dublin Product Design make with the discarded vapes and look forward to our return visit to South Dublin with the objects they make.”
This event was supported by the Green-Campus Open Call 2025 through the Higher Education Authority’s Strategic Alignment of Teaching and Learning Enhancement (SATLE) fund.