As the movement towards sustainability becomes ever so glaring and rampant, so many customers and consumers are becoming more aware of their waste. They are adopting more eco-friendly, biodegradable and sustainable options. People are also shifting towards recycling, as well as upcycling items that they can rather than disposing of them.

What is upcycling?

According to Yi et al., upcycling is the conversion of waste materials to something useful or valuable, and this concept can be used and applied to waste recycling and resource circulation (1). Yi et al. study suggests and highlights redefining the idea of upcycling as “the recycling of waste materials and discarded products in ways that enhance their value” (1).

Forbes defines upcycling as reusing discarded objects or materials to create a product of a higher quality or perceived value than the original (2). The article states that upcycling uses pre and post-consumer waste, or a combination of both (2).

Example of upcycling includes taking old furniture, sanding it down and painting it to give it a new look or taking an empty plastic or tin can and turning it into a flower pot.

What is recycling?

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines recycling as the process of collecting, turning and processing waste materials into new products (3).

Another definition of recycling by forge waste and recycling states that it is an industrial process whereby objects are transformed into new materials and then used to make either the same product again or a different product (4).

Example of recycling includes taking bottles and processing them into new glassware or taking steel cans, melting and processing them into new food cans. Recycling also uses pre and post-consumer waste or a combination of both.

“Pre-consumer wastes are items that were discarded before consumer use; these wastes are reintroduced and used to create new products. While, post-consumer wastes are items that have been used by a consumer, disposed of, and recycled/diverted from landfills to make new products. Both types of waste items can be recycled or upcycled.”

Effects of Waste on The Planet

Global warming

When organic matter waste such as paper products or kitchen waste etc. are not disposed of properly, they start to decompose producing high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane gas. According to NASA, these gases effectively trap heat in the lower atmosphere leading to an increase in the global temperature (11).

Research published on PLOS ONE shows that plastic waste also releases two greenhouse gases, methane and ethylene (5). The EPA states that methane gas is more effective at trapping UV radiation than CO2 gas and has a greater impact (25 more times over 100 years) on the planet than CO2 (6).

Trapping more UV radiation leads to global warming, and the effects of global warming are noticed in the increase of natural disaster, alteration of animals and plants life cycle, and increase in sea levels etc.

Air and Water Pollution

Waste that ends up in the landfill produces toxins like methane and ethylene that pollutes and creates toxic soil contaminating groundwater. The EPA states that groundwater and surface water are interconnected, and some soils that are porous and permeable allow for the movement of contaminants and water (7). They also state that nearby bodies of water like rivers or streams can become contaminated by groundwater, thereby polluting our water system (7).

When it comes to air pollution, the areas around landfills and incinerators are polluted and smell bad. The toxins released by the waste in the landfills adds to the air becoming polluted while burning waste in incinerators does not only pollute the air but also lead to global warming.

Death and Destruction of the Ecosystem

There are so many videos and documentaries showing the devastating effects of plastic waste on wildlife. Most of us have seen videos of animals that died because they were caught up in a plastic bag or due to plastic consumption. According to national geographic, over one million marine lives, birds and animals die each year due to plastic waste (8).

An increase in the death of any animal species can lead to the extinction of that animal, and affect the balance of the ecosystem. For example, imagine if all bees go extinct, plants that are pollinated by bees would suffer, and they can become extinct as well. So as we can see, extinction causes a rippling effect on the ecosystem and can affect more than one living species in that system.

Now, let’s talk about trees and other plant destruction. The human race (our race) is cutting down trees at an alarming rate. A TIME 2015 article states that about 15 billion trees are cut down each year, and the global tree count is down 46% since human civilization began (9).

Trees play a vital role in animals and our survival. According to the European Environment Agency, 1.3 million trees are responsible for removing about 2500 tonnes (which is ~2.5 million kgs and ~5.5 million pounds) of pollutants including CO2 from the atmosphere and in exchange releasing oxygen (10).

Cutting trees down leads to an accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere, thereby increasing global temperature (warming), which contributes to the melting of the polar ice leading to an increase in sea level. The rise in sea level can lead to high tides, flooding of coastal areas and islands, hurricanes, and tornadoes etc. Beyond an increase in sea levels, we have also seen an increase in wildfires and other natural disasters. At this point, it is foolish to keep deceiving ourselves that global warming and climate change isn’t real and just a myth.

Benefits of Recycling and Upcycling

It helps reduce the amount of waste in incinerators, landfills and oceans.
It helps in the conservation of natural resources such as trees, water and land space.
Protection of wildlife.
Prevent air, soil and water pollution.

Help in the creation of new jobs in recycling and upcycling facilities and industries.
It helps decrease the rate of CO2, methane and ethylene gas released to the atmosphere.

According to the EPA guidelines, here is the list of products that can be made with recycled materials. They include aluminium cans, steel products, paper products, cardboard boxes/products, glass containers, carpeting, trash bags, textile/clothing items and plastic products (3).

Let’s all play our part for a better Earth. Our planet provides everything we need for our survival and the survival of other animals and plants. The least we can do is treat it right and do our best to preserve it. Remember, every little effort towards a more sustainable living counts. The waste hierarchy to live by~ Reduce, Re-use/Upcylce and Recycle!

I hope you found this blog informative and it provided you with more knowledge on the damaging effect waste materials has on our planet. Thank you for reading and let me know if you have ever upcycled an item. And if you have what item did you upcycle? Have a great day!

XOXO,
Precious.

Reference:

1.     Yi Sora, Lee Hisun, Lee Jeongmin, Kim Woong. Upcycling strategies for waste electronic and electrical equipment based on material flow analysis. Environmental Engineering Research 2019; 24(1): 74-81. Published online: June 18, 2018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4491/eer.2018.092 http://eeer.org/journal/view.php?number=932

2.     Greg Petro. Upcycling Your Way To Sustainability. Forbes 2019. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregpetro/2019/02/08/upcycling-your-way-to-sustainability/#44cc5b4158e2

3.     The Environmental Protection Agency. Recycling Basics (2020) Available from: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/recycling-basics

4.     Lucy. What is the difference between recycling and upcycling? Forge waste and recycling (2020). Available from: https://www.forgerecycling.co.uk/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-recycling-and-upcycling/

5.     Royer S-J, Ferrón S, Wilson ST, Karl DM (2018) Production of methane and ethylene from plastic in the environment. PLoS ONE 13(8): e0200574. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200574 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0200574

6.     The United States Environmental Protection Agency. Greenhouse Gas Emission: Overview of Greenhouse Gases~ Methane. Updated: Apr 20, 2020. Available from: https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases

7.     The United States Environmental Protection Agency. Getting Up to speed: Ground Water Contamination. Available from: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-08/documents/mgwc-gwc1.pdf

8.     National Geographic video. See How It Feels to Be an Ocean Animal Stuck in a Plastic Bag. Posted: Jun 8, 2016. Available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaDx-WJAsaE

9.     Justin Worland for The TIME (2015). Here’s How Many Trees Humans Cut Down Each Year. Available from: https://time.com/4019277/trees-humans-deforestation/

10. The European Environment Agency (2011). Forest, health and climate change. Available from: https://www.eea.europa.eu/articles/forests-health-and-climate-change

11. NASA (2020). The Causes of Climate Change. Available from: https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/