What Is The Difference Between Recycling And Upcycling?

 Upcycling Is Eco Friendly  

For quite  some time now I  have been fumbling with the terms "re-cycling versus up-cycling". I often confuse the two ideas and no amount of reading up until today has straightened out my confusion. But today I have finally gotten to the bottom of these two terms.

Thanks to a blogger at http://www.relevedesign.com/ I am confident that I have just learned about "what up-cycling" is in the clearest description.

Here is what Releve Design says:

WHAT IS UPCYCLING ?

When we’re done with magazines or plastic bottles we usually throw them away. Sometimes we reuse them. Other times we recycle. Recycling actually downgrades the material. For instance, the quality of plastic lessens each time it’s recycled. Different types of plastics and impurities get mixed together, weakening the plastic. Fortunately, there’s a better way to deal with waste, and that’s upcycling.

Upcycling is a special type of repurposing. In general, repurposing puts things to use in a different way than originally intended. Repurposing is not always eco-friendly, especially when it uses new and usable things. Upcycling is an eco-friendly way of repurposing, because it only uses unwanted and discarded materials and transforms them into something new, desirable, and more valuable.

Image from http://www.hometalk.com/1187323/sunny-days-and-repurposed-benches#

C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of I Antique Online an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café. To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link: C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com Dianne is a member of: The American Society of Journalists and Authors The Society of Professional Journalists