Upcycling

Now, I will move on to the reuse portion of reduce, reuse, recycle. Reusing materials is pretty self-explanatory, but I want to focus on the creative side of reusing. In the sustainability world, we call creatively reusing materials up-cycling. Up-cycling varies slightly from the definition associated with reuse. When an individual reuses a product, item, or material, they typically reuse the item in the same fashion as it had previously been used. Up-cycling requires reusing a product in a way that creates higher value for the item than its original use. The goal of up-cycling is to solve a problem by making use of existing materials so that they do not go to waste. This can be a fun way to reduce waste while thinking creatively.

Why is it important?

Up-cycling embodies an important value of sustainability: living simply. Living simply does not necessarily constitute that an individual who want to be sustainable must live a modest life. Rather, living a simple life asserts that less is more. In its essence, up-cycling inquires “why buy more of a product if you have an alternative item or material that could suit the same need?”

The benefits of up-cycling mirror those of recycling with the added advantages of further reducing the waste that makes it to the landfill and reducing the environmental costs of transportation. Like recycling, up-cycling conserves natural resources. Raw material extraction is reduced because up-cycling repurposes used materials instead of buying new products produced with newly extracted materials. Raw material extraction is very energy intensive, requiring copious amounts of fossil fuels to support it. In turn, up-cycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Unlike recycling, up-cycling has the added benefit of decreasing the fossil fuels needed to transport waste and contaminated recyclable material to landfills or incinerator cites. The materials and items used in up-cycling do not need to go through the conversion process (the process that turns recyclables into new products). Because of this, items used in up-cycling eliminate the energy needed for conversion.

Up-cycling’s advantages are more than just environmental. It gives individuals the satisfaction of providing for themselves and fosters care and connection to one’s possessions.

How to:

The possibilities of up-cycling are endless. With a little creative thinking, things that are seen as trash to one individual can be used in new and innovative ways. Unwanted materials or products can be transformed into meaningful art, decoration, and useful items that you would have otherwise bought. A simple search for up-cycling______, reusing______, and sometimes recycling______ on Pinterest will bring up thousands of ideas for you to do. Below, I have collected some of my favorite projects to get your mind thinking of all the possibilities of up-cycling and the wide variety of things you can create.