Projects on REUSE CITY Wiki

Circular Material Valuer Curriculum

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 18:08:30 +0000

Circular Material Valuer Curriculum#

Participatory knowledge for the circular economy#

The ”Circular Material Valuer Curriculum” is a citizen science initiative to explore the skills, experience and sensibility necessary to extend the lifespan of the growing volume of goods discarded or kept unused. The project draws attention to a particular set of tasks and activities whose relevance deserves better appreciation and research in order to transition to a more circular economy. Circular Material Valuer is envisioned as a new role for professionals, to decide how better to divert reusable goods and materials from the waste stream through repairing, upcycling, adapting and recirculating.

CMVC - Sample Course Programme

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 12:37:49 +0000

Circular Material Valuer - Course#

Part of the Circular Material Valuer Curriculum project. The contents of this page can be found also on Zenodo (DOI 10.5281/zenodo.17712671) and in the project repository as a PDF. The Course Sample is also available from OER COMMONS.

Sample Course Programme

This page describes the Circular Material Valuer, a 15-week project-based course programme designed to equip individuals and organizations with the skills and mindset needed to divert valuable goods from the waste stream. It combines theoretical learning with hands-on, reflective activities to foster a holistic understanding of material reuse from a critical, ground-level perspective.

CMVC - References

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 12:49:44 +0000

CMVC - References#

References associated with the Circular Material Valuer Curriculum. This page was published together with the first version of the Curriculum, and will be updated with new references over time.

Readings:
- Schröder, Patrick, et al. Circular Economy and the Global South.
- Schmidt Fonseca, Felipe. Thesis title: Generous cities – weaving commons-oriented systems for the reuse of excess materials in urban contexts. Doctoral Thesis. Zenodo. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15263864.
- Clark, Liesl, and Rockefeller, Rebecca. The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan.
- Thackara, John. How to Thrive in the Next Economy.
- Shannon Mattern, Maintenance and Care. In: Places Journal, November 2018. Accessed 08 Aug 2025. https://doi.org/10.22269/181120
- Vosse, Corinna. Coming full circle. In: Coming full circle. Accessed 26 Nov 2025. DOI: 10.4324/9781003244196-30.
- Translated Articles from French websites on the agent valoriste role.
Videos:
- Furtado, Jorge. Ilha das Flores.
- Walker, Lucy, et al. Waste Land.
- “L’agent valoriste - un métier de l’économie circulaire” on YouTube.

Module 2: Eyes and Hands of a Circular Valuer#

Readings:
- Sennett, Richard. The Craftsman.
- Jackson, Steven J. Rethinking Repair.
- Nemer, David. Technology of the Oppressed.
- Sander, N., et al. “Introducing the Reshape strategy: Preserving material integrity.” 6th PLATE Conference 2025.
Videos:
- Hunkin, Tim. The Secret Life of Components.
- Oroza, Ernesto. “Technological Disobedience”.
- “Free Universal Construction Kit”.

Module 3: Information Systems and Economic Value#

Readings:
- Mazzucato, Mariana. The Value of Everything.
- Ostrom, Elinor. Governing the Commons.
- Minter, Adam. Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale.
- Raworth, Kate. Doughnut Economics.
Websites & Tools:
- Local Economies
- IFIXIT Repair Guides
- Open Repair Alliance Dataset
- The Restart Project’s Fixometer
- Make Works
- Dsposal
- Instructables
- YouTube channels on reuse, upcycling, repair and re-circulation

Module 4: Stories and Personal Value#

Readings:
- Le Guin, Ursula K. The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction.
- Tronto, Joan C. Moral Boundaries.
- Wahl, Daniel Christian. Designing Regenerative Cultures.
Videos:
- Waste Land.
- Estamira.
- Trash.
- Hunkin, Tim. The Secret Life of Machines.
- Prado, Marcos. Estamira.

Additional References#

Books:
- McDonough, William, and Braungart, Michael. Cradle to Cradle. North Point Press, 2002.
- McDonough, William, and Braungart, Michael. The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability–Designing for Abundance. Melcher Media, 2013.
- Viña, Victor. “DIY in Context From Bricolage to Jugaad.” Scribd, 2012.
- Mazzucato, Mariana. The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy. Penguin, 2018.
- Minter, Adam. Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2019.
- Schröder, Patrick, et al. Circular Economy and the Global South: Towards a Justice-Oriented and Inclusive Transition. Routledge, 2020.
- Ostrom, Elinor. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge University Press, 1990.
- Raworth, Kate. Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. Penguin Random House, 2017.
Articles & Reports:
- Lafuente, Antonio, and Alonso, Alberto. “Right to Know, New Technologies and New Communities of Citizenship.” In Knowledge Communities. Nevada University, Reno, USA, 2011.
- Lafuente, Antonio, and Estalella, Adolfo. “Ways of science: public, open, and commons.” In Open Science, Open Issues, edited by S. Albagli, M. L. Maciel, and A. Hannud Abdo, pp. 27–57. IBICT, Brasília, 2015.
- Sander, N., Laursen, L. N., Bak, B. L. V., & Damgaard-Møller, E. (2024). Starting from scraps: Design reuse assessment of waste materials. DRS2024: Boston. (https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.888).
- Thackara, John. How to Thrive in the Next Economy: Designing Tomorrow’s World Today. Thames & Hudson, 2017.
Videos & Documentaries:
- Dannoritzer, Cosima. The Lightbulb Conspiracy. 2010.
- “Forest Economics” Workshop.
- “Free Universal Construction Kit.” [Video/Project]
- Furtado, Jorge. Ilha das Flores (Isle of Flowers). 1989.
- Hunkin, Tim. The Secret Life of Machines. Channel 4, 1988-1993.
- Oroza, Ernesto. “Technological Disobedience.”
- Prado, Marcos. Estamira. 2004.
- YouTube - POP-MACHINA Webinar
- Walker, Lucy, et al. Waste Land. 2010.
Websites and Organisations:

CMVC - V01

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 16:48:54 +0000

CMVC Version 1#

This page contains the first version in English of the co-designed Circular Material Valuer Curriculum, created by GIG and Reuse City. The Curriculum was created as a citizen science project supported by the Hans Sauer Foundation.

V1 of this Curriculum was published on Zenodo (DOI 10.5281/zenodo.17712503) and is also available as a PDF from the project repository.

Learn more:

Framing, Structure and Definitions#

The Circular Material Valuer Curriculum (CMVC) was created to equip circular initiatives, zero-waste programmes, reuse centres, and other similar organisations with the essential skills, knowledge, and sensibility needed to effectively divert reusable goods and materials from the waste stream and generate local value in social, economic and environmental ways.

Critical Circularity

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 16:40:33 +0000

Critical Circularity#

A course about society and things#

Reference materials#

Curso Transformatéria (blog posts in Portuguese)
- 1 - global supply, mining and end of life, maker cultures, gambiarra
- 2-1 - waste, cradle to cradle, repair cafes
- 2-2 - the city as a makerspace
- 3 - making and reuse

Material Valuers - Online Survey

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 07:31:11 +0000

Material Valuer - Online Survey#

As part of the citizen science project Circular Material Valuer Curriculum, we are conducting an online survey to learn from people experienced in the activities of Material Valuers.

Please read the Participant Information below before contributing. If you understand and agree with the following, please submit your answers via this form.

To preview the survey questions before answering them, please refer to the project repository.

Participant Information#

You are invited to take part in a citizen science project. Please read the information provided below. This will help you to understand why and how the research is being carried out and what your participation will involve. You are welcome to contact us to clarify any questions via email on felipe@globalinnovationgathering.org before participating in this survey.

Circular Square

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 14:40:04 +0000

Circular Square#

Inclusive circularity lab.