Upcycling at its Best – Studio Alternatives

1 Comment / By Sharayu Mishal

The Art of Upcycling For a Sustainable Lifestyle

I am a fan of upcycling, I am all for it. For those of you who are not aware of what upcycling is, it is nothing but a fancy term for – ‘Best Out of Waste.’ For instance, using a worn-out tire for a swing, or converting beer bottles into lamps, etc qualify to define the upcycling process (No, it’s not the same as recycling).

It takes a creative toll on your mind to implement this art; reusing trash and transforming it into something that increases its quality than its original status, calls for an innovative brain.

Ecopurple intends to promote eco-creativity and sustainable choices. So today, this particular post is to highlight the eco-creative work of a firm that aces in the craft of upcycling.

Studio Alternatives

This Pune based studio is an interior design consultancy and more. Their artwork is not limited to creating a brand new showcase from scratch, but they have very well excelled at the concept of upcycling as well.

Not only the interiors, but the team also designs a myriad range of upcycled products, from earrings to handbags, to furniture, they have saved a lot of waste from getting end up into the landfills.

The Scraplab

The team has a dedicated ScrapLab, wherein a stock of discarded materials that have the potential of getting subsumed into something creative is stored. This must be where their minds begin to churn the creative juices!

From households to industries, the team collects scraps from all levels, driving the waste to a valuable object of use.

Sustainable Homes with Used Shipping Containers

By building container homes, they have taken the game of upcycling up a notch. The studio has transformed used shipping containers into a variety of desirable environments.

“The inherent mobility of these structures also make them amenable to be deployed at otherwise inaccessible areas in a short period of time as compared to conventional brick and mortar construction.”

This includes a well-furnished Studio apartment, daycare centers, multi-purpose workspaces, farmhouses, etc.

Luxury constructions like farmhouses that are not so essential for livelihood can settle with such eco-friendly creations. It is crucial to utilize and to create the best out of waste whenever the opportunity presents itself, thereby reducing the ecological footprint which is left behind.

Studio's Awareness Initiatives

Along with their efforts of building upcycled decors and constructions, Studio Alternatives also organize workshops, a way to impart the knowledge and awareness about waste management, and practical sessions for crafting upcycled items. A green-craft class!

Going through their website and social media profiles, their innovations made sure to captivate my attention. It’s fascinating to see the practice of old-school best out of waste in a practically impactful way. Kudos to the creative minds!

YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS

The Wire’s report of 15^th Oct 2019 on annual solid waste production, stated,

If there’s a chance to upcycle even 20 percent of this pollution, slowly and gradually, there will be a day where waste, or more specifically the solid waste, can be brought under control. And to bring about a large-scale reformation, the society as a whole must follow the necessary guidelines and contribute to help change the above statistics.

Comment down below and let me know what you think.

What is Recycling and Upcycling? Same or Different?

Leave a Comment / By Sharayu Mishal

Recycling Vs Upcycling - Is there a Difference?

Recycling and upcycling may seem similar, one can get easily confused between the two and even claim them to be the same, but are they? The answer is simply No. Although the two seem similar, there’s one significant difference in their processes.

By definition, Recycling is when waste is converted into a reusable form. Whereas upcycling is a process in which a discarded material is reutilized, and transformed into a product of higher value than its original status.

Take a look at the following images.

Image 1 is a shoe made out of a plastic bottle, and image 2 is a guitar shelf.

Can you identify what process is applied in each of the images?

Let us break down the above pictures

The first image has a shoe made out of what looks like a single-use plastic bottle. In this process, the plastic bottles are shredded into flakes, and then after further technical procedures, they are maneuvered into fibers, which can be woven into desirable fabric or product. Therefore, a single-use plastic bottle, unlike the above guitar, is broken down to its entirety and then recycled to create a different product.

Now the second image. It’s a guitar turned into a beautiful shelf. The instrument is not destroyed to the core and then converted into a new piece of décor. However, it is upcycled.

In other words, upcycling is a fancy term for ‘Best-out-of-waste.’

Conclusion

Recycling involves a process of breaking down the discarded object. On the contrary, Upcycling does not break down the material before reusing it; it reutilizes by upgrading the original value of the discarded item.
Both recycling and upcycling results out of one common goal – Reuse, and this approach becomes important when leading a sustainable life.

Therefore, next time when you discard solid wastes, take a moment and think whether there’s a possibility to recycle or upcycle. Blessing the landfill with more unnecessary waste is the last thing we want to do.

Sustainability