We throw things away because we want to forget them. But they don’t cease to exist. Dealing with the vast quantities of waste from our modern lives is a major environmental and economic concern. This is an important message, but engaging audiences with this topic – which is unpleasant, boring, and sometimes a bit smelly – presents quite a challenge. This reverse session explores how innovative artistic and creative approaches can mediate new encounters with waste, and perhaps even encourage people to adopt more sustainable behaviours. Speakers will highlight the opportunities and challenges of projects in their organisations, before discussion is opened up to the audience. Themes under discussion will be relevant for anyone seeking to engage audiences with challenging subjects.