If you have found this page perhaps you have seen some upcycled products advertised and are wondering what it’s all about! The idea behind upcycled products is certainly not a new one but, as with many things green, is becoming more prevalent as we try and find more ways to save energy and reduce emissions.
To those in developing countries upcycled products are pretty much a way of life as any waste is seen as an opportunity to make something new due to the lack of new products and/or the money with which to buy them. Something like a tin can might be made into a simple stove, this being a clear example of something being upcycled. That’s to say it is recycled into something of similar or greater value. Arguably materials such as glass are upcycled in that they don’t lose any quality in the recycling process, but the term upcycled products is often used in the case of more unusual examples of recycling.
The aim of upcycling is, as with any recycling, to reduce waste and save some of the energy needed to make products from virgin materials. Upcycled products, however, are often made without the need to take a material back to its original state but to adapt a product for a new use. It could be a bag made from juice cartons, for example. There is undoubtedly a grey area between regular recycling and upcycling, but making upcycled products is something you could do at home as well as looking out for products to buy. Could you decorate that large baby formula tin and make it into a pencil pot, for example, or what about making an old item of clothing into a funky bag?
Find out more about the definition of www.upcycling.co.uk
