Photo: photo by QuasicUpcyling is a much-discussed and poorly understood concept of green living. Fortunately, the basics are easy to understand and the results are eco-friendly, creative, and fun.
Spend much time on the green-webs and you are bound to stumble upon the term “upcycling.” First coined by William McDonough and Michael Braungart in their must-read book Cradle to Cradle, upcycling is commonly defined as:
The process of converting an industrial nutrient (material) into something of similar or greater value, in its second life.
So how is this different than recycling? While recycling is mostly concerned with harvesting the valuable raw materials from an item in order to prevent fresh consumption of the material, upcycling is an attempt to repurpose a usually disposable item in a creative and functional way.
Upcyclers are not collecting paper to make more paper, nor are they hunting for cans to create more aluminum (they might want the deposit return though). Instead, they are thinking of clever ways to make trash into something special.
Check out these upcycling ideas to get started:
Old Shopping Bags or Magazines Become Unique Envelopes
Sure, you could recycle that stack of magazines or the pile of paper shopping bags in your closet. Or, you could transform them into unique envelopes.
Photo: photo by SarabbitCracked Teacups Become Eye-Catching Candles
If you have cracked or orphaned teacups lying around, waiting to be tossed, then this project is perfect.
Photo: photo by ecram1Make a Purse or Laptop Bag from Soda Tabs
Though a more involved project than the two mentioned above, making a purse or laptop bag from soda tabs is not that difficult. When you’re finished, you can wear this example of upcycling with eco-pride.
Photo: photo by Orin OptiglotUpcycling is great for the environment but more importantly, it’s a fun and creative way to stylishly show off your eco-ingenuity.
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I always just thought of this as creative reuse. But I’m glad to see a movement is afoot. I like to use old travelmaps I no longer need as wrapping paper, especially for presents bought on the trip that generates the map. Very green gifts, of course.
Here in Santiago using tetrapaks to make wallets is all the rage. They get the grommets installed by a grommeter but do the cutting/folding/elasticking by hand.
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I’ve been seeing a lot of this round here…rings, earrings and pendants made from retro typewriter keys, handbags made from cans…there are some very creative people out there!
I hadn’t heard of the term upcycling though. Noted.
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This has been around for a while in Mexico, you can get purses made out of wrappers (mainly gum and chips), doormats, etc. I like these ideas =P
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Even more impressive are the companies upcycling designer goods out of garbage from the streets of the third world, with the goal of pumping the profits back into that economy.
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I love upcycling! Etsy has some great upcyclers…you can check out a great one here:http://www.theflyingpinto.com/2009/04/whats-in-your-carry-on.html
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really cool! thanks for sharing this.
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