
(Family Features) Virtually everyone knows recycling helps promote more sustainable living. A lesser known but effective way to keep materials out of the landfill is upcycling.
When items get recycled, they’re generally broken down and the materials are used to create other products. For example, glass can be melted to create new glass containers, milk jugs can become playground equipment and discarded newspapers are the basis of some kitty litter.
Upcycling is a little different. With upcycling, the material doesn’t change form but is reinvented. One popular tact is reinventing thrift store furniture finds into new pieces, such as converting an old trunk into a whimsical coffee table.
Upcycling can also be an effective and affordable way for philanthropic organizations to achieve their missions. One example is Help Heal Veterans (Heal Vets), a nonprofit dedicated to serving veterans and active-duty military by supplying therapeutic craft kits. In honor of Earth Day, the organization announced it received and repurposed more than 1 million pounds of upcycled materials.
“Through upcycling, we are able to responsibly utilize donated materials that would have gone to landfills to serve veterans who need our support,” said Joe McClain, retired Navy captain and CEO of Heal Vets.
The organization repurposes leather, cloth and other materials to create therapeutic craft kits for veterans and active-duty military around the world. Thousands of kits are shipped each month to help with long-term support and recovery for those impacted by wounds of war.
Each kit is a complete project, such as leatherworking, building models, making jewelry or another creative piece. While all kits help veterans focus on the present and build self-worth and self-esteem, many are also customized to focus on specific needs such as restoring fine motor skills and concentration or relieving depression and anxiety.
Upcycled materials, such as leather from old airplane seats, make the kits possible. Together, Southwest Airlines, Arise Foundation and Duncan Aviation donated 335,000 pounds of leather from outdated seat covers to support numerous leather kit options, including wallets, belts, footballs, and bracelets.
Other organizations providing source materials include The Elks (more than 1 million square feet of tanned deer skins), La-Z-Boy (469,500 pounds of upholstery), American Woodmark (112,400 pounds of cabinets) and Magna (40,000 pounds of automobile seats).
Upcycling at Home
Make a commitment to sustainability with these upcycling ideas you can implement in your daily life:
- Empty tissue boxes can be used to organize supplies, including pens, seasoning packets and more.
- Instead of discarding an old shower curtain, save it to use as a drop cloth for messy art projects with the kids.
- Fit mate-less socks over your hand to use as dusting mitts or to collect and store small pieces of games or other household items.
- Cut the tops off two empty plastic bottles of the same circumference. Attach a zipper to the cut edges using hot glue or adhesive for fun art supply storage.
- Add a backing with chalkboard paint to an old window or mirror frame for a stylish message board.
Learn more about the relationship between upcycling, sustainability and supporting veterans at healvets.org.
SOURCE:
Help Heal Veterans
- 8 Family-Friendly Travel Destinations(Family Features) From the sunny beaches of Florida to the mountains of Montana, there are many ideal locations across the country for families and friends to visit together. When traveling with a group, booking a vacation home in these popular destinations allows families to stay under one roof and provides privacy and other family-friendly amenities… Read more: 8 Family-Friendly Travel Destinations
- Observing World Bee DayWORLD BEE DAYWorld Bee Day is celebrated on May 20 each year to acknowledge the role of bees and other pollinators for the ecosystem. #WorldBeeDayhttp://tnc.network/stories-this-moment/
- NASA, Partners Offer Global View of Environmental ChangesContinuing the collaboration that produced the COVID-19 Earth Observing Dashboard in 2020, NASA and its international partners in Europe and Japan have combined the collective scientific power of their Earth-observing satellite data in expanding the online resource to document a broad array of planet-wide changes in the environment and human society. The expanded dashboard from… Read more: <strong>NASA, Partners Offer Global View of Environmental Changes</strong>
- Earthworms Like to Eat Some Plastics, but Side Effects of Their Digestion Are UnclearNewswise — Earthworms are a welcome sight for gardeners and farmers because the wriggling invertebrates recycle nutrients from soil, making them more accessible to plants. As worms burrow, they consume almost everything in their path, including microscopic plastic pollution. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology have observed that earthworms actually prefer soil with some… Read more: Earthworms Like to Eat Some Plastics, but Side Effects of Their Digestion Are Unclear
- In sediments below Antarctic ice, scientists discover a giant groundwater systemPreviously unmapped reservoirs could speed glaciers, release carbon Newswise — Many scientists say that liquid water is a key to understanding the behavior of the frozen form found in glaciers. Melt water is known to lubricate their gravelly bases and hasten their march toward the sea. In recent years, researchers in Antarctica have discovered hundreds… Read more: In sediments below Antarctic ice, scientists discover a giant groundwater system