One major consequence of the Coronavirus is the increase in produced waste, which has naturally resulted from the extended duration of time people are spending within their houses. Since people have started to order things online much more frequently due to their outdoor activities being hindered, the amount of plastic waste, especially product packaging, skyrocketed soon after the Covid breakout.
In order to combat this phenomenon, both activists and civilians have participated in the eco-friendly activity known as “upcycling”. Upcycling is the action of using by-products, wastes, and other objects of no usage in order to recreate them into something new and beneficial.
Plastic wastes are the main focus in most instances of upcycling, considering its abundance and detrimental aspects. One of such upcycling groups is the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM), which runs the Plastic Mill. Like how the name suggests, the Plastic Mill functions like a mill, but operating with plastic wastes instead of grain. While the standard mill grinds grain into flour, the Plastic Mill melts all sorts of plastic wastes in order to prepare them for a second life as brand new products. With molten plastic, the Plastic Mill creates a variety of goods including toothpaste squeezers and soap holders.
Figure 1: Soap holders (on the left) and toothpaste squeezers (on the right) developed by the Plastic Mill (LINK)
The core idea here is that the ‘Plastic Mill’ is upcycling, not simply recycling. While upcycling and recycling share the same fundamental goal of preserving resources and preventing waste, the two are slightly different in terms of their processes. Finding this confusing, one may ask the question, “then what exactly is the difference between Upcycling and Recycling?” Simply said, the key difference between the two is that while recycling is simply deconstructing the remains of a product in order to generate the same copies, upcycling involves the process of utilizing scraps to create something new, different, or superior compared to the previous product. Consider the ‘Plastic Mill’ as an example - since it creates different products from the plastic waste rather than simply generating more plastic bottles, it is effectively upcycling, rather than recycling.
Not only are environmental activists engaging in upcycling, the concept is also rapidly spreading among experts of different fields. For instance, many scientists working at laboratories have begun to show interest in upcycling. LaShanda Korley, a professor of engineering and materials science at the University of Delaware, is one of such researchers.
Korely’s latest research mainly focuses on the development of new, sustainable polymers. With her initial source of inspiration being the silk produced by spiders, Korely aims to create a type of synthetic polymer that is capable of expanding and shrinking. She also plans on reducing the burden on the environment by implementing the concept of upcycling. Explaining how the existing method of recycling plastic waste into products with limited usage is inefficient, Korely’s intends to recreate the plastic waste into more valuable forms, including fuels and practical polymers.
Upcycling can even be found in the field of fashion. While many experts have previously considered the concept of capturing the benefits of upcycling in fashion as a significantly difficult practice, many creators are slowly beginning to implement the ideas of upcycling into their products. With prominent fashionistas such as Jonathan Cohen and Tanya Taylor, and famous brands such as Patagonia and Burberry joining in the effort to create artistic products from plastic parts, upcycling is steadily becoming a mainstream concept in the fashion industry.
Like these various examples, the trend shows that numerous experts from a wide range of different fields are beginning to join in the process of upcycling for a variety of different reasons. For instance, through upcycling, some environmental groups aim to reduce the pressure on mother nature, while also generating funds to support their cause. On the other side of the coin, companies pursue upcycling in an attempt to appeal to the newer generations regarding their efforts to preserve the natural environment. Whatever the causes may be, it is key for us to notice these efforts and take part in preserving the environment for future generations.
Works Cited
Caruso, Catherine. “Creating New Polymers, and Upcycling the Old Ones.” MIT Alumni Association, 11 Jan. 2021, alum.mit.edu/slice/creating-new-polymers-and-upcycling-old-ones.
Bauck, Whitney. “Spring 2021 Was the Season Every Designer Finally Decided to Upcycle.” Fashionista, Fashionista, 16 Oct. 2020, fashionista.com/2020/10/spring-2021-upcycling.
Lee, Jaelim. “'Sparrows' across Korea Unite to Upcycle.” Korea JoongAng Daily, koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/13/culture/features/Plastic-Mill-Precious-Plastic/20210613185200389.html.
Q&A:
Sally: Is upcycling better than recycling? If so, what are some specific advantages? Also, can all items be upcycled or are there specific products that can be processed?
As stated in the article, upcycling is more efficient compared to recycling in terms of how it recreates waste into better, more creative products rather than simply producing a newer version of whatever was recycled.
Xavier: Can upcycling only be put into practice in special facilities like the plastic mill? Or is there a direct way for people to directly get involved?’
The concept of upcycling can be utilized by everyone, but the problem at the moment is how plastic upcycling (the most frequent type) generally requires facilities capable of melting plastic safely, which is definitely not common in the average household.
John: What are the byproducts of melting plastic? Is the energy required in melting the plastic worth the new products created by upcycling?
It really depends - I can’t simply determine the average “worth” or “efficiency” of all upcycling processes. However, the key point of upcycling is that waste can be utilized and recreated for a better, new purpose, rather than focusing entirely on energy-efficiency.
Hannah: What are some difficulties with upcycling? Especially since many trash come with different parts (such as the labels on plastic bottles) and materials, wouldn’t it be harder to sort and create a new product out of them?
Definitely. As mentioned in the question, one of the many difficulties is the sorting process. Since plastic upcycling generally requires the process of melting plastic, plastic wastes must be sorted before they are melted. However, it must be noted that plastic recycling also requires this process as it relies on molten plastic. Thus, it could be said that as the need to sort plastic is shared among both procedures, this obstacle does not necessarily put recycling above upcycling.
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