With the first year of the project completed, the UPCYCLE consortium gathered at BOKU University in Tulln an der Donau, Austria, on 28 and 29 October 2026 for two days of discussions, technical exchanges, and planning for the next phase of the project. The meeting brought together partners from across the value chain to review progress, reflect on the work completed during the first twelve months, and prepare for the activities ahead.

From 6 to 9 September 2026, the 20th International Symposium on Biopolymers (ISBP 2026) brought the biopolymer community to Dublin, Ireland. Organised by UPCYCLE partner University College Dublin (UCD), the symposium gathered more than 170 delegates from 25 countries, bringing together expertise from research, industry, and policy.

In mid-September 2026, the Austrian daily Die Presse published an interview with Felice Quartinello from BOKU University, a UPCYCLE partner, under the title “Diese Pflanzen fressen Plastik auf” (These plants eat up plastic). The interview looked at a surprising discovery from the UPLIFT project, and Felice also mentioned UPCYCLE as the project that is now taking that work further.

The UPCYCLE project was featured at the AMI Compounding & Recycling Expo 2026 (formerly Compounding World Expo), held on 23 and 24 September at Messe Frankfurt, Germany, through the participation of project partner AIMPLAS. The event brought together professionals from across the plastics and compounding sectors to discuss material innovation, processing technologies, recycling, and sustainability.

The UPCYCLE consortium held its third Executive Board meeting on 31 August 2026, marking the completion of the project's first twelve months. Partners met online to review progress, coordinate ongoing activities, and agree on how collaboration across work packages will be organised during the next phase of the project.

The GDCh Conference on Inorganic Chemistry brought the German inorganic chemistry community to Jena from 7 to 9 September 2026. Organised by the Wöhler Association for Inorganic Chemistry and the Division of Solid-state Chemistry and Materials Research of the German Chemical Society, the meeting covers the breadth of the field, from molecular chemistry to solid-state materials.