RePaper

‍The RePaper project by UCLL is making festivals more sustainable with a circular gadget.

What if, instead of simply throwing away your waste, you transformed it into something useful, stylish, and socially relevant? That is exactly what RePaper, an innovation project of UCLL Research & Expertise, achieved this summer together with Nationale Loterij, Zanzibar, designer Roel Vandebeek, cutting studio Cuthings, and custom work company BEWEL.

Every year, thousands of visitors gather around the ‘Geknipt om te winnen’ stand of the Nationale Loterij at Belgian festivals. The campaign is extremely popular, but it also generates a huge pile of used scratch tickets. In January 2024, the Nationale Loterij and Zanzibar approached RePaper with a clear question: could something be done with this paper waste?

A creative and social solution

RePaper immediately saw potential. Together with designer Roel Vandebeek, a sustainable sun visor was developed, made from used scratch tickets from the 2024 festival summer. Each gadget consists of carefully cut-out components and was assembled by BEWEL, resulting in more than 3,000 unique packages.

The practical production required precision: more than 20,000 tickets were sorted, checked, cut, and processed. Cuthings was responsible for laser-cutting the tickets, after which BEWEL handled the assembly and packaging. Even the shipping boxes were reused, giving the entire process a highly sustainable character.

A festival gadget with impact

Festivalgoers can win the sun visor at the Nationale Loterij stand. But the gadget is more than just functional: it is a conscious reminder that waste can also be valuable. The campaign highlights the importance of the circular economy, social entrepreneurship, and inclusive employment.

Designer Roel Vandebeek calls it “one of the most difficult things I have ever had to design because of the limitations of the small scratch ticket” — but at the same time also one of the most meaningful.

RePaper is currently carrying out a social and ecological impact assessment in collaboration with the Inclusive Society research unit of UCLL. The results of this assessment will be published in August/September 2025 and are expected to demonstrate how much CO₂ emissions and raw materials were effectively saved compared to traditional festival gadgets.

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