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Who Knew Upcycling Could Be So Much Fun

December 4, 2010

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MONTREAL (RPRN) 12/04/10 — The other day I was surfing the net and I came upon an article on upcycling. It wasn’t the first time I had heard of the term since I am working on a project with Stonyfield Canada and Terracycle. But I wasn’t exactly sure of how I could make a difference at home.  So, I did a little more research and it seems there are quite a few fun DIY ideas out there, but first let me clarify the difference between upcycling and recycling.

The main difference between upcycling and recycling is making something of equal or better value without downgrading the original material and sometimes actually creating more pollution.  One example of upcycling would be using old tires for a bumper guard on a boat, an outdoor swing or as a planter for flowers. Another example is taking an empty yogurt tub and making a funky plant holder. On the other hand, an example of recycling would be taking old glass by heating it to the point of melting and allowing it to be poured, blown, or otherwise re-formed into new glass items.

So I started thinking… we already recycle a lot. My four year old is actually pretty good at judging what goes in the garbage vs what goes in recycling.  He even runs to the window every Tuesday morning hoping to see the big green recycling truck!  But, what could we upcycle?  As much as I’d like to wipe the dust off my beautiful new (well… not so new anymore) sewing machine to make aprons out of old dresses, that’s just not going to happen! What could I do that is creative, crafty and easy to do with a 4 year old that has a short attention span? Holiday napkin rings!  I found this easy idea online. All we need is 2 or 3 cardboard toilet paper rolls, some paint or shiny paper, glue, scissors and fun stuff like buttons or other small ornamental objects to glue on and voila!

Anybody want to share some of their fun crafty upcycling ideas?   I’m really starting to like this eco-mom thing….

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