Recycle vs. Upcycle

Recycling… Upcycling…  Whats the difference right??  WRONG! :)

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I like to recycle and reuse products, but my passion is giving used products a second chance through the artistic design of upcycling.

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For me the difference between recycling, reusing and upcycling is …

When we recycle items like plastic, glass or paper, we take them to recycling plants (downcycling) where they become new raw material, making new products of equal or lesser quality.  They sometimes have the same value, and sometimes less.

Reusing is when you use a product with the same purpose or another purpose, but don’t change its value.  For example, when a water bottle is finished and you reuse it by filling it up with water again several times.

Upcycling is when we do something innovative, unique and creative to improve the quality of the product.  Upcycling lets you use something that was already “used up” in another way, f0rming another product and normally INCREASING its value!  recycling_vs_upcycling-1

In any of the 3 cases we are saving raw materials and that is a good thing.  It is the opposite of the culture of consumption!

Please feel free to give your thoughts, comments, or questions in the comments below!  I would love to hear what you think of Upcycling vs Recycling!

GET CREATIVE!

SofiaE!

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