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While the act (and art) of upcycling is becoming a popular way to reinvent old things, the term is still catching on.
Upcycling is often confused with recycling because they have similar definitions (the process of turning something used into something new) but they are rather different.
Materials destined for recycling are either brought to a collection centre or picked up from the curb, sorted, cleaned, reprocessed and manufactured into new, typically lesser quality materials. This is a process known as “downcycling.”
When you upcycle a product, you are keeping it out of the processing and refinement cycle altogether and turning the material into something of higher value than the original. So just remember, “upgrading” by “upcyling.”
Does upcycling do any good?
North American consumer habits have major environmental and financial costs. Producing new material goods and transporting them from factories to distribution centres to consumers uses large quantities of natural resources, produces air and water pollution, and creates emissions such as carbon dioxide—the major greenhouse gas linked to climate change. When these products become waste, they must be transported again, usually to landfills.
Check out some of these inspiring sample projects:
Interesting stuffSure, we still have to buy new things, but thinking about what we buy, use, and toss can help us distinguish between necessities and luxuries. When we upcycle we divert items from the waste stream and we diminish the demand for new products.
Do something good for the planet, people and your pocketbook.
Start your project today! »
