How 'upcycling' can save you cash and the planet

Waste less, spend less, create more - the upcycling philosophy is easy to get behind. Let’s take a look at this awesome budget-slashing trend and a local community that proves how much upcycling has to offer during times of increasing cost of living.

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The status of waste in New Zealand

Modern life creates a lot of waste. Every year, New Zealand generates almost 17.5 million tonnes of waste, with most of that (12.5 million tonnes) ending up in landfills. A lot of this is your everyday kitchen scraps that eventually biodegrade, but even more is plastic, metal, concrete, fabric, and so on. All common materials in furniture, appliances, tools and more are chucked out when they’re broken and/or replaced.

Often, these discards are still perfectly useful - though not always in the same way as they were first intended. This is where ‘upcycling’ comes in, and it’s a skill set that could help you save the planet and keep more dollars in your wallet at the same time.

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What is upcycling?

Upcycling is the idea of taking something that would be thrown away and making something new out of it instead. With the application of some hard work and creativity, t-shirts are turned into funky pillowcases, wooden crates transform into rustic footrests, and empty wine bottles become chic lamps with built-in pops of colour.

That’s just the start of the opportunities around “waste”. The upcycling movement is built on the idea that there’s no such thing as waste. It’s all a chance to think outside the box and build something new from the old. Lots of people love upcycling. It's a great chance to explore their creativity, and even more love it because it means you don’t have to spend a single cent on buying something new. Instead of replacing, you’re creating.

And the best part? Upcycling is a hobby and a skill set that you also don’t have to spend a single cent to enjoy. And if you don’t want to create something brand new, the skills used in upcycling can be used in straightforward repair as well. 

Upcycling has become so popular that upcycling workshops have become core parts of some local communities. Here’s an example from New Plymouth, where the upcycling team at Junction have managed to eliminate 350 tonnes of landfill rubbish through ambition, determination, skills and elbow grease.

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Upcycling in your community

Upcycling is a mindset, not just a skillset. If you don’t have the time, tools, skills or the passion to do the upcycling yourself, you can still enjoy the benefits by supporting local op shops and upcycling groups. The same thinking behind upcycling applies: Spend less, waste less, create more. That’s a mindset that’s well worth applying elsewhere in life too. 

In summary? There aren't many downsides to upcycling. Next time you think about dropping something at the dump, take a second look and consider the hidden possibilities in front of you.

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This was originally posted as an education article on the Money Sweetspot customer portal. If you read this as one of our customers, you would've earned some money off your loan! Do the mahi, get the treats. Find out more.

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