The Unbelievable Power of Upcycling

We know we create too much waste and it’s becoming more and more of an issue. Between households and corporations we’re getting near a danger point when it comes to the refuse we push out.

This is why upcycling is so important. By creatively reusing products and items that were destined for landfills humanity can reduce its collective waste and have new products for the marketplace.

The good news is upcycling is becoming a stronger presence and this means its importance and benefits will reach more people.

Let’s look at some of the major players.

Do you ever stop to think about how much food we discard? I don’t just mean how much we throw away without using it. We take something, use a fragment of it for our nourishment, then throw the rest away as if it has no purpose. This is incredibly wasteful and not very eco-friendly.

Amazingly, innovators are finding ways to use these scraps.

Planetarians has devised a way to transform defatted sunflower seeds into chips and is set to launch a flour mixture also created from the seeds.

Canvas is taking the massive amount of brewers spent grain created by beer brewers (this is billions of pounds) and using it to create fiber- and protein-rich shakes.

StillGood upcycles juice pulp to create delicious and healthy cookies.

These companies are doing amazing work when it comes to reducing the massive amount of food waste created by humans. This is something that needs to be done. It’s also almost shocking it took so long for companies like these to come forth, as you would think that using more of a product would make more sense financially.

Another massive source of waste is clothing. In today’s world we buy fast fashion and then (after a season or two) discard it, blindly ignoring the waste this is creating.

But what if instead of tossing the top you sent it back to be reimagined?

That’s the idea behind For Days. Customers don’t buy a shirt, they buy a lifetime membership. That membership concept means once customers are over the shirt they send it back and get a new replacement. And the old shirts? They get broken down into raw materials and are blended into new shirts.

This is a great way to reduce the amount of textiles that end up in our landfills, not to mention smart shopping.

Finally let’s talk about plastic.

We know the world is drowning in plastic and we need a solution. As it stands eight million pieces of plastic are thought to be entering our oceans every day and this plastic is killing the creatures that live in the waters.

Yes, there is recycling, but we know we can do better.

Upcycling plastic is the superior option, reforming plastic into a new and better version of itself.

This is what GreenMantra is doing. It is taking the plastic waste we’ve labelled as useless—low grade, low value, essentially trash—and transforming it into something new. The polymers created from this process have countless uses and can be found in inks, roofs, paving and plastics.

This fantastic innovation is a good example of green technology and the amazing things that can be done when the right minds access the technology.

We know recycling is important, but we need to move into a mindset where upcycling is considered first. This is how we’ll ensure less waste is created and less energy is spent on the wrong areas.

Upcycling is amazing. Do whatever you can to support these innovators as they are the ones who have the best chance of keeping us on the right track to better the world.