What is Upcycling?
When we think about recycling, the process often involves converting materials back to their original form. For example, plastic bottles are recycled into plastic polymers, which are then used to manufacture new plastic bottles. While this is an essential part of sustainability, upcycling takes the concept further by adding value to discarded materials, as its name suggests. As Watson & Wolfe describe, “Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products perceived to be of greater quality, such as artistic or environmental value.” This creative process breathes new life into items that might otherwise end up in a landfill.