Upcycling is a way to turn a used product into something useful again, such as shopping totes made from highway billboards, purses made from reclaimed seat belts, laptop cases made from soda bottle material, or glassware made from discarded wine bottles. The potential (re)uses for items that would otherwise end up in a landfill are limited only by the imagination of those creative and resourceful enough to repurpose an item into something useful or beautiful. Cottage industries are springing up all over the world, and there appears to be no end in sight to the products being upcycled. It makes sense ecologically to reuse something rather than start from scratch.
For more information upcycling and recycling, visit earth911.com or allthingsrenewable.com. There are lots of ideas to help get you started with upcycling. We can all do a better job of helping to stop the rampant spread of waste and creation of unnecessary garbage, and upcycling and recycling are a great way to start.
