The Super Cool Guide To Upcycling

We’re all consumers, and as consumers we all have a responsibility to reuse and dispose of our products to negate our impact on the earth. We’ve already shown you how to lower your carbon footprint, so this time we’ll show you the other aspect of the recycling process. Upcycling is the reuse of previously loved products and goods, and giving them a new lease of life or alternative purpose. Here’s our tips and tricks to making the most out of your waste, see for yourself if you can give something a new lease of life, and share below your tips for upcycling.

WASTE WATCH

When it comes time to throw something away, give it a little extra time before you do so, so you can think about how your going to dispose of an item. By putting something on hold briefly you can do some research about what your going to do with the item and whether it still has a use or could potentially have an extended life in another role. The first question you should ask yourself is “Could this item still have value?”  A quick Google will probably answer this question for you, as there’s tonnes of information out there about how to upcycle specific items. Whether it’s upcycled as a whole, or broken down into parts and re-purposed somewhere else, you might surprise yourself to see what you can do with something you previously considered trash.

 

 

START LOCAL

The quickest and most effective way of extending the life of an item is to simply find out if someone else will take it. Places like Freecycle and Gumtree are dedicated sites where people post items they are giving away. People will be willing to travel to pickup your items, and you can often be doing a favour for someone in need who can make use of it. If you don’t have the time to re-purpose items yourself, this is the quickest way to responsibly recycle unwanted items. Of course, there’s always charity shops too. If you’re unsure if they will accept an item, give them a ring in advance to check.

 

 

GET CREATIVE

If you’re creatively minded, and have some sort of attachment to an item, creative upcycling is the way to go. Turning a previously loved item into an art project is a great way to give something with sentimental value a new lease of life. Look at what other purpose an item could have, and assess what kind of work it will take to get it there. Sometimes a quick clean and a lick of paint will give something a completely different perspective. Remember that a lot of items that you buy in new condition in furniture shops are deliberately given a used or recycled vintage look, yet are mass produced. You can not only match this look, but creative something a lot more unique, and more importantly, useful than something you would buy brand new. Pinterest is a great place to start looking for upcycled items, with some beautiful examples showing how you can take something that would have been thrown away, and creating a unique and artistic item instead.

 

 

GET TO IT!

What are you waiting for? Grab something and try and give it a new purpose. Don’t worry about messing up or making a mistake, you we’re only going to throw it away anyway!