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The Importance of Upcycling
Posted by GuestPoster in -The Great Outdoors
Reiner Pilz in 1994 coined the phrase to ‘upcycle’ and when he did he opened up a new way of thinking about recycling. Prior to the distinction between upcycling and downcycling people considered all recycling to be good. Now we have the academic apparatus to look more critically at recycling.
The difference between upcycling and downcycling is defined by a number of characteristics, but the primary indicator is value. With downcycling bottles, cans and plastic are collected in huge volumes and heated, crushed, pulped and subjected to industrial processes. The result is a product that is akin to a raw material – aluminum, glass, paper pulp etc. This is downcycling because the end product is of lower value than the items it was made from. Typically, local governments encourage or require citizens to collect their refuse for downcycling. Only through the economics of volume do these recycling efforts break even or make a small profit. Downcycling of plastic rarely makes a profit and is usually subsidized by the success of downcycling aluminum cans and tins.
In contrast upcycling is about using the unwanted item to make a new product that is of more value. Rather than a big recycling factory, upcycling is often more labor intensive. Examples of upcycling are taking unwanted knits and making new clothes or using truck tires to make sandals. Upcycling requires the unwanted material to be treated in a more complex and skilful manner because it is being turned into another product rather than a raw material.
There are a number of advantages to upcycling. The first is that it doesn’t require lots of expensive machinery and huge smokestacks. This absence means a big saving in carbon, minerals, mining, concrete etc. Secondly, because upcycling produces a product of greater value it has an economic advantage. Thirdly, re-purposing cuts down on the need to make new products (such as knitted clothes or sandals) and thus reduces water and air pollution. Finally, upcycling can be started on a much smaller budget. It is not surprising that people in developing countries have been upcycling for many years, well before Reiner Pilz came up with a term for the phenomenon.
So, consider how you can re-purpose your own waste, and also consider if you can’t buy an upcycled product instead of a newly made product. The imagination that is itinerant with upcycling is what is needed in the fight for the health of the planet.
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