It’s Not All About the Materials: Here’s How to Upcycle Using Minimal Energy, Resource and Expense
Tags: Material Design, Recycling, Cradle To Cradle, Upcycle, Solutions

It’s Not All About the Materials: Here’s How to Upcycle Using Minimal Energy, Resource and Expense MINIWIZ Sep 23, 2020·6 min read

As waste and pollution levels increase across the globe, businesses will need to use new methods of production to reduce resource consumption, maximize energy efficiency, and support a sustainable economic and environmental future.

Upcycling can be much cheaper than recycling, since it does not require the additional processes that are involved in breaking down an item into its raw materials.

Upcycling can find a place in a variety of industries. From brewing and food to construction and electronics, businesses all over the globe can benefit from the reduced costs associated with harnessing and reshaping materials that already exist.

By reducing manufacturing costs, cutting resource consumption, and maximizing energy efficiency, companies will not only raise their bottom line, but also contribute to a more sustainable economy and a healthier environment.

Upcycling is the reuse of discarded materials to create new products of higher value than the originals. The process involves re-adapting, re-purposing, and re-engineering parts and processes in creative ways to give old items second lives.

Popularized by American architect William McDonough and German chemist Michael Braungart in a 2002 book titled, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, upcycling has gained traction in recent years for its capacity to provide real value while reducing waste and material consumption across a variety of industries.

Why Upcycling?

As waste and pollution levels increase across the globe, businesses will need to use new methods of production to reduce resource consumption, maximize energy efficiency, and support a sustainable economic and environmental future.

Upcycling offers us a way to do exactly that. By reusing goods and materials that are already in circulation, we can avoid extracting new resources while still engaging in innovative production and creating huge amounts of economic value.

By its nature, upcycling is far more energy efficient, eco-friendly, and cost-effective than traditional product development and material creation methods:

Reusing existing materials requires fewer stages of processing.

Businesses can avoid using expensive, often toxic, manufacturing chemicals.

The cost of producing upcycled products is often much lower than the cost of producing traditionally manufactured goods.

Recycling vs. Upcycling

At this point, you might be wondering: what is the difference between upcycling and recycling?

As far as processes go, the two are distinctly different:

Recycling breaks discarded items down into their raw materials for the express purpose of being made into completely new items. For example, when plastic bottles get recycled, they are broken down into raw plastic, which can be used to make T-shirts, sneakers, carpeting, or new bottles.

breaks discarded items down into their raw materials for the express purpose of being made into completely new items. For example, when plastic bottles get recycled, they are broken down into raw plastic, which can be used to make T-shirts, sneakers, carpeting, or new bottles. Upcycling can be thought of as a form of recycling, but the process does not break down items. Instead, it focuses on the creative reuse and re-purposing of used products while still maintaining the quality and integrity of the original products’ constituent materials.

Upcycling can be much cheaper than recycling, since it does not require the additional processes that are involved in breaking down an item into its raw materials.

Upcycling Across Industries

Upcycling can find a place in a variety of industries. From brewing and food to construction and electronics, businesses all over the globe can benefit from the reduced costs associated with harnessing and reshaping materials that already exist.

In fashion, fabrics and textiles from discarded clothing can be used to create other articles of clothing or items like bags, curtains, and bookmarks. Nike, for instance, partnered with Miniwiz to create new shoe packaging made from 100 percent post-consumer waste such as juice containers and coffee lids. Nike also appointed Miniwiz to launch NikeLab, a project that reused production waste, recycled materials, and discarded Nike footwear/apparel.

Furniture can be repurposed in a similar way. Hops Chair, for instance, is a unique piece of furniture built entirely using post-consumer waste and production waste. Even at home, you can transform a shabby window frame into the perfect set of hanging photo frames for your living room.

There are even products like Pickmaster, a device that allows you to construct your own guitar picks using soft plastic waste from old credit cards, bottles, grocery bags, and product wrappers for biscuits, chips, and other food items.

In construction, Miniwiz began to build and design projects using recycled materials in 2005. The company’s portfolio features the prominent “House of Trash” in Milan, Italy, which made waves with its 2018 opening. Miniwiz also collaborated on projects such as the Nike Kicks Lounge X Xinyi A11, the SDTI E-Waste Recycling Facility, and the Jackie Chan Stuntman Training Center.

But there is always room for improvement. Miniwiz is committed to optimizing the process of upcycling with re-engineering — analyzing the systems involved in industrial upcycling in order to make adjustments that reduce waste and curb materials and energy usage. Among the many possible changes, improvements can include:

Upgrading or replacing the types of machines used

Changing how machines are used

Adjusting steps in the production process

Miniwiz has produced a number of projects that involved rigorous re-engineering practices that greatly reduced product, material, water, and energy waste. By prioritizing both the product and the process, the company doubles down on its commitment to support and encourage sustainable, eco-friendly manufacturing processes.

Ready-to-Use Upcycling Solutions

Our work showcases Miniwiz’s dedication to cost-effective, waste reducing, and energy efficient solutions that do not compromise product quality, style, or functionality. The company’s offerings are expanding rapidly — Miniwiz is currently preparing to launch Trashpresso, a ready-to-use recycling unit that converts plastic trash (such as bottles, caps, and ringlets) to “tiles” that can be used to construct a variety of housing products, including walls, floors, and architectural decor.

Transform Plastic Trash to Tiles (Image Source)

A single Trashpresso is made up of a 40-foot processing unit plus a 20-foot solar cell unit. The ready-to-go upcycling machine is not only capable of producing new materials from common waste, but also supported and sustained by a source of renewable energy. Trashpresso is also built to handle worst-case scenarios — Miniwiz has equipped the unit with a backup diesel generator for emergencies.

MiniTrashpresso 2020

Conclusion

Upcycling is an innovative and environmentally-friendly way for businesses to create new products and provide value for their customers without sacrificing environmental health. By reducing manufacturing costs, cutting resource consumption, and maximizing energy efficiency, companies will not only raise their bottom line, but also contribute to a more sustainable economy and a healthier environment.

Now, more than ever, the world needs sustainable, scalable business practices. Miniwiz stands on the front lines as a prime example of how companies should harness upcycling and use re-engineering to cut costs, find sustainable and responsible production methods, and create value in a variety of industries.

Interested in finding out what upcycling can do for your business? Check out our solutions today and learn more about Miniwiz’s projects here.