As someone who loves to be in nature and surrounded by greenery, I thought it was important to embrace all things green, from an environmental perspective. Upcycling and recycling are some of the first things that come to mind so I thought I would break down what they are, why they are different, and which is best.
The difference between upcycling and recycling is that recycling breaks down items to make the same item but at a lower quality or value, whereas upcycling takes the item and makes it better, increasing its perceived quality and/or value.
Benefits of recycling
The benefits of recycling are many so let’s touch on some of those right now.
It saves energy. Making a recycled product saves between 30%-90% of the energy needed to produce the same product from new materials, factoring in the cost of sourcing new raw materials and transportation costs.
Eco-friendly, less mining, and deforestation occur as a result of recycling, which means the levels of good clean air can remain stable as we reach a sustainable equilibrium with nature. We also produce fewer greenhouse gases which have a negative impact on our atmosphere.
Fewer fossil fuels are used in transportation as a result of materials being available locally.
Many jobs are created as a result of recycling which helps support the local economy.
Less waste gets put into landfills due to recycling awareness as we clean and separate our recyclables before they are taken from our homes.
Less waste means water supplies, such as lakes, rivers, and oceans as well as groundwater areas get less contamination so they are safer for us and they need less treatment to make them safe to drink.
Recycling is also widespread and there are many recycling facilities in almost every country worldwide making the act of recycling an easy and viable prospect.
Benefits of upcycling
Similar to recycling, upcycling saves energy but as we are not doing it at the same volume and not at the same scale as recycling the energy consumption is negligible.
It can be argued that upcycling is more eco-friendly than recycling due to the fact we do not need to break down anything to remake it anew, but there are the inherent costs of added materials that are needed to upscale the item to turn it into something more valuable so this point could be rendered moot.
Upcycling can be done anywhere, especially at home making it a cheap and simple option for anyone to do.
Upcycling, because of its very nature, educates and inspires others to become more eco-friendly because of the higher value results of upcycling. When you look at an empty wine bottle you just see a bottle but when someone has taken the time to carefully cut it and mount it onto a block of wood and turn it into a lamp it becomes a much admired and sought after piece.
Upcycling is a viable business or self-employed option as upcycling is a very lucrative way of making money. So much more so than recycling.
eg. a glass bottle with a recycle value of no more than 20-30 cents can be made into a lamp which could sell for $50 making you about $30-35 dollars.
A piece of XPS foam with no recycle value could be turned into a fantasy gaming set which could be made for about 25 dollars and could sell for over 200 dollars.
3 aluminum drinks cans with a recycle value of around 15c could be made into a piece of gaming terrain for about 5 dollars and sold for 50-60 dollars.
Upcycling vs recycling
So which is better, upcycling or recycling? Well, it depends on where you are, how much waste you produce, and how much of this material you can get your hands on. If there is a large supply, more than can be reasonably turned into something better by hand then recycling is the better way.
If you are looking at things from your own household perspective then upcycling may be better if you can eliminate your recycling altogether and make some great art into the bargain.
At the end of the day doing something about our waste is better than not so, in my opinion, both ways have their own merits.
That said, however, I still lean towards upcycling as a way forward because of its money-making ability, it’s lead by example way of educating people about what is possible, and of course how easy and inexpensive it is to start.