upping the upcycling part 1...

Recycling is great. I love it, and do as much as I can.

But there are many shades of recycling that we have to contend with...

It is generally understood that a great deal of recycling takes the raw material, reprocesses it into another similar raw material, or the same product again. But, even thought this is completely necessary, the reprocessing takes energy and sometimes downgrades the properties of the material, eg paper and plastic.

This is downcycling.

The opposite? Upcycling.

This is the term given when someone takes the waste raw material and reprocesses it into another product of equal, or higher value and quality.

And it is upcycling that we should be seeing much more of, and supporting in any way possible, so, with this is mind, I will be doing a series of posts on people doing interesting upcycling stuff, beginning with Aurora Robson.

Aurora makes the most wonderful sculptures from crap - plastic in all shapes and forms and even junk mail. It has been predicted that 30,000 plastic bottles have been intercepted from the waste chain to be turned into these lovelies.

Take a look and be inspired - what can you do, Blue Peter style with the contents of your recycling bin? Send me your pictures, and I will post any interesting offerings...