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 value or environmental value. Upcycling is a subset of the recycling process. Recycling typically involves remaking items back into their original design. Upcycling is a process that instead adds value to a newly created product. Downcycling, however, is an opposing recycling process that degrades waste materials into new products of lower quality. Both processes of recycling help reduce landfill waste. Applications of upcycling include art, music, fashion, food, and technology.
History Prior to the Industrial Revolution, upcycling was a common practice used to repair goods. The person repairing the goods and the person using the goods was usually the same person. Writer Alvin Toffler coined the term "prosumer" to describe the role of the producer and consumer as a single entity. In the Western world, however, the increased production capabilities that came with the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries resulted in a separation of these roles. A linear economic model emerged that encouraged used products to be thrown away and replaced by newly produced ones. This rise in consumerism resulted in a decrease of the pre-industrial upcycling practices. In the 21st century, an increased understanding of the economic and environmental benefits of upcycling has contributed to the revival of DIY repair.
History of the term "upcycling" Upsizing was the title of the German edition of a book about upcycling, first published in English in 1998 by Gunter Pauli and given the revised title of Upcycling in 1999. The German edition was adapted to the German language and culture by Johannes F. Hartkemeyer, then Director of the Volkshochschule in Osnabrück. The concept was later incorporated by William McDonough and Michael Braungart in their 2002 book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. They state that the goal of upcycling is to prevent wasting potentially useful materials by making use of 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 reduction of energy usage, air pollution, water pollution and even greenhouse gas emissions. Upcycling has shown significant growth across the United States. For example, the number of products on Etsy, Pinterest, and Upcycle Studio tagged with the word "upcycled" increased from about 7,900 in January 2010 to nearly 30,000 a year later. As of April 2013, that number stood at 263,685.
Global context In 2009, Belinda Smith from Reuters wrote that upcycling had increased in rich countries but observed that upcycling was a necessity in poorer ones. While developing countries' practice of upcycling used goods reflects a lack of access to buy new goods, in developed countries it reflects a greater importance assigned to environmentally friendly practices. Consumers are also motivated by cheaper prices to upcycle. If more companies recognize the profitability of upcycled products, then it can become a more mainstream practice in the corporate world.
Recycling and upcycling
Recycling While recycling usually means the materials are remade into their original form, e.g., recycling plastic bottles into plastic polymers, which then produce plastic bottles through the manufacturing process, upcycling adds more value to the materials, as the name suggested. According to Watson & Wolfe "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 value or environmental value." Similarly, recycle art may refer to art pieces using used materials in their original form while upcycle art may involve a transformation process such as breaking down, reforming, reassembling, and the like. A common concept in Recycling is the 3Rs, which represent Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. According to The Upcycle Artist's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Creating Art from Waste published by Upcycle Art And Craft Society (UAACS). They coined a 3Rs principle for upcycling: Rethink, Reform, and Reborn. "Rethink" involves reevaluating something and looking at an item from a new perspective. It means seeing the potential for repurposing, giving it a new function, or exploring other creative possibilities for that material. "Reform" involves physically altering the item, either by dismantling it, combining it with other materials, or using different techniques to change its form. This transformation of existing materials creates a new structure that better suits the artist's creative vision. "Reborn" is the final outcome when the upcycled item is given new life or purpose. It's like a resurrection of cast-offs that are given a second life"
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