Upcycling: An Introduction

The resources we have at our fingertips here at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre in Whistler are seemingly endless. We re-sell lightly used clothing, housewares, electronics, books, movies, sports equipment and so much more. It is awesome to give items a second life, to follow our mantra of goods out of landfill, but it always seems we could be doing more.

On a recent investigation into recycling possibilities, we have put some more time into researching the concept of "Upcycling", Recycling's sister concept. Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or higher environmental value.

Where recycling breaks items down, upcycling remakes and constructs. Sound crazy?

Imagine you have a pile of scratched LPs. Instead of throwing them away, why not make them into a bowl? Scratched records can be made into bookends or bags or even a cake stand. A leaky rubber boot might make a great planter just by adding a few more holes.

There is an amazing online culture surrounding upcycling. Any make-it-yourself tutorial you care to think of as videos, step-by-step photos and how-to blogs.

We're excited about it. In the next months we will be showing you all a bunch of projects for those upcoming rainy spring days. We'll help you find the bits and pieces you need to make awesome additions to your home and a sustainable addition to your life!