Downcycling, recycling and upcycling explained

So that’s upcycling, but what about recycling and how it differs from downcycling?

Recycling and downcycling, the differences

Recycling, in the purest sense of the word, is the process of breaking down a product into its component materials. These materials are then used to create an end product of equal value to the one that was broken down. 

Glass bottles and aluminium cans are examples of products that can be infinitely recycled, with no need to add in virgin (brand new, non-recycled) materials to maintain their quality. This is what makes glass and aluminium such great materials to use for packaging. As long as they are separated and put into the recycling system, they will come back, just as strong as they ever were.

So what’s downcycling?

Downcycling is still a form of recycling, but the “down” refers to the fact that, when the materials the product is made from are broken down, they can’t be made into a product of equal value without adding virgin materials.

However, this doesn’t make downcycling all bad! Without downcycled writing paper, we wouldn’t have recycled toilet paper. Without downcycled plastic bottles, we wouldn’t have fleece or some types of carpet. A lot of products that contain downcycled materials are also really long lasting. So whilst your plastic drink bottle is single use, the carpet it eventually becomes could be in someone’s home for 10 years or more.

Yes, all of these products will reach the end of their life eventually, or will need bolstering with new products to be useful. But without downcycling, they’d be deemed useless and sent to landfill far sooner than they currently are.