Icon’s Modern Materials and Collection Care Groups, the Natural History Museum, Imperial College London, and the Science and Engineering Research for Cultural Heritage Network are pleased to be hosting a one-day in-person symposium bringing together specialisms to discuss the challenge of using plastic for the storage of collections.
Plastic storage solutions are often adopted for collections storage due to their low cost and ease of use. However, questions around material stability, additives, longevity, environmental impact, and what exactly is ‘inert’ generally go unanswered in the face of shrinking resources.
The intention for this symposium is to hold a day of talks and open, honest discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the commercially-available products and issues encountered. We want to hear your questions,concerns and success stories, and discuss what testing and assurance measures can/should be undertaken. How can we better inform ourselves of the materials we are subjecting our collections to?
Alongside traditional presentations there will also be 5-minute flash talks.
This call is open not only to conservators but to colleagues across the heritage sector and related sciences.
Flash Talks
5-minute flash talks will need to be presented in person at the Natural History Museum, London. We hope the in-person nature of the conference will encourage open and non-judgmental discussions of potentially sensitive topics.
Presentation topics might include:
- Researching how well different plastic containers/plastic materials actually work for the storage of collections.
- Case studies, times when using plastics in museum storage went smoothly and times when it really didn’t. What worked, what didn’t and what people would change next time.
- Plastic success stories, what worked for you and how it is used.
- Talking through the trade-offs: longevity, cost and whether the benefits truly outweigh the drawbacks.
- Moments when teams decided not to use plastics and chose other materials instead, and why that choice made sense.
Submission Guidelines
- Abstract submissions should include:
- Title of presentation
- Author(s) and affiliated institutions (if applicable)
- Presentation summary (max. 300 words)
Please submit your abstracts as an email attachment (Word document or PDF) to [email protected]. The deadline for abstract submissions is Friday 29 May 2026 at 17:00 BST.
Abstracts will be reviewed by a selection committee, with decision emails sent to authors in June 2026.
Event page and tickets will be available soon:
- Non-Icon members: £15
- Icon members: £12