We have all heard the word recycling, but how many of you have heard of upcycling?
This concept was the title of a book written in German by Gunter Pauli in 1996, being the free translation of the word upsizing (the opposite of downsizing). The German edition was adapted for the German language and culture by Johannes F. Hartkemeyer, then director of the Volkshochschule in Osnabruck. This concept was later incorporated by William McDonough and Michael Braungart in their 2002 book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. They claim that the goal of upcycling is to prevent the waste of potentially useful materials by using existing ones. This reduces the consumption of new raw materials when creating new products. Reducing the use of new raw materials can result in a decrease in energy consumption, a reduction in air and water pollution, and even a reduction in fuel emissions.
Upcycling is the opposite of downcycling, which is part of the recycling process. Downcycling involves the conversion of some materials and products into others of lower quality. Most recycling processes involve this very conversion. For example, during plastic recycling, several different types of plastic are mixed, resulting in a hybrid material that has inferior qualities and structural defects.
In developing countries, where raw materials are often expensive, upcycling is practiced quite often to save money and resources.
1.Giving a second chance to this school benches
2.Plastic shipping straps are good for a cat bag
3.Winter shelter for cats
4.A military file cabinet
5.A old fan into a new lamp
6.Upcycling plastic bags
7.T-shirts into rug
8.An old microwave cart
9.An old TV
10.Ikea backpack
11.An old TV stand
12.Abandoned car
13.A brocken pot
14.An old grill
15.Cool transformation
16.A windbreaker
17.Handpainted
18.Teacup birdfeeder
19.Denim friends
20.Old candle lit
21.A good idea
22.That was a blanket
23.Car lifehacks
24.Clothes for babies
25.An old window screen
26.A new cat bed
27.Bicycle wheel
28.TV with cats
29.A little bookcase
30.Old bike transformation
