Green Living – An Introduction to the World of Upcycling
A major part of green living and choosing to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle is about reducing waste, recycling, and finding new ways to re-use items rather than discarding them. While recycling is now an inherent part of our society, there is another emerging process that is becoming more popular with people – It is called upcycling.
What is Upcycling?
Upcycling is the process of using old items, materials, and things and turning them into something useful rather than throwing them out. It is an exercise of repurposing items that can be used for something different, breathing new life into something rather than recycling it or throwing it in the trash.
Upcycling is a green initiative because it has a positive impact on the environment. It helps to reduce the volume of items that go to landfills and it requires less energy to upcycle rather than recycle an item.
How is Upcycling Different from Recycling?
The goal of recycling is to turn waste, such as an empty can or bottle into a reusable item that can be reworked and re used. The belief behind recycling is that it used items are still useful in some way or they can provide material that can be used in another way.
Upcycling, on the other hand, is a form of recycling that follows the same principle of turning waste into a useful item, but in a different way. Rather than sending the product to a plant to be re-worked, items are repurposed. For example, turning an old truck tire into a tire swing or turning a set of old doors into a headboard for a bed.
What Can I Upcycle?
You can upcycle virtually anything. This is the beauty of the process. All it takes is a little creativity and you can turn a so called piece of junk into a beautiful home décor piece of useful item.
Some common items that are frequently upcycled include:
- Old furniture and Wood
- Wine bottles and cans
- Old clothing and other materials
- Tires and car parts
- Anything else that you can think of
Where can I find items to Upcycle?
There are lots of places that you can find great items to upcycle. The first place that you should look is at home. Most people have lots of old furniture or items that are only collecting dust. These are perfect for upcycling.
Other areas to look for items include:
- Basement, shed, garage, and attics
- Thrift stores
- Yard sales and even road side pick ups
Have you heard of upcycling? Have your tried it? Would you buy items that have been upcycled?