Support upcyclers TODAY! - Thematic Report, May - Ambassador report - Our Actions

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Support upcyclers TODAY! - Thematic Report, May
by Elina Haber \| 28-07-2021 22:18 0
-Waste to treasure- After utilizing an item, we need to get rid of the now useless object. However, waste can become treasure through upcycling. This method will transform unwanted goods into new ones with a higher quality. Besides being a creative activity, it can also be considered an occupation. This job has been on the rise recently, where businesses are selling their upcycled products. We can support them and buy their works at upcycling stores. Let's visit some upcycling shops and companies TODAY! It has become common to have an online store that's able to ship worldwide. Based in Derbyshire, the British small business Upcycled Creative started shipping its designs internationally. Since their foundation in 2012, they have won more than 10 awards. These winners' creations are out of the ordinary, such as the upcycled lightnings. With Upcycled Creative, the water tap becomes a lighting, the renewed shopping trolley becomes your favorite place to sit down. The best part is: you can learn the art of upcycling in this business' interactive workshops! Last but not least, these artists have mastered the activity of upholstery, they decorate their customers' houses with marvelous upcycled furniture. From creativity to innovation, upcycling has impacted our world. Based in Uganda, Upcycle Africa Limited aims to transform the waste crisis into employment opportunities. Nonetheless, they provide solutions to homeless people. Here's how you can build a house without the costly commercial materials: collect plastic bottles, fill them with soil, then start constructing. The process doesn't need more than a couple of days and requires thousands of bottles filled with soil. Moreover, the houses are affordable, earthquake resistant and definitely eco-friendly. Hence, this upcycling company fixes pollution, low employment and homelessness in Africa. Interesting, right? Another method to reuse waste is to make bricks out of discarded plastic and rubber. In 2019, the Columbian Oscar Andres Mendez and his team's at Conceptos Plásticos worked with UNICEF with the aim of constructing classes to make education accessible to the youth in the Ivory Coast. Thus, the biggest world issues are solved by upcycling. At my home country, I find that the level of environmental awareness is lower than the outside world. However, the society practices upcycling and makes profit from it as well. Let's meet one of the Lebanese upcycling heroes, Ms Samantha Fadlallah who runs a solo business called BOCA. This term means "Bottle" in the Croatian language and it also means "It's a beautiful gift" or "C'est un beau cadeau" in French. Scott Belskey, an American entrepreneur once said: "Creativity is quite simply a genuine interest combined with initiative". Therefore, Samantha's business turns new ideas into reality. She started selling handpainted bottles of wine, in 2020. In fact, the pandemic gave her time to go back to her old hobby while making money. Our last destination for the day is the zero-waste Lebanese shop "Eco-Souk". The store opened on 6 February 2019, near Beirut, it is specialized in the absence of plastic bags and other toxic packaging materials. The first Lebanese zero-waste shops sells creative items made locally by Lebanese designers. We urgently need more upcycling businesses to open in Lebanon. The border line is, garbage can be found everywhere which causes toxic pollution. Fortunately, upcycling provides solutions to pollution, low-employment, homelessness and to the inaccessibility of education. Truly, "Waste isn't waste unless you decide it is". Which one of the above proposed ideas is your favorite upcycling concept? Mine is definitely the houses made by plastic bottles! Thanks for reading. Also, thank you for the kind responses, despite my irregular posting. The visit doesn't end here, see more content on their websites! -Upcycled Creative https://www.upcycledcreative.co.uk -Upcycle Africa Limited https://upcycleafrica.org/ -Conceptos Plásticos http://conceptosplasticos.com/ -BOCA https://www.instagram.com/boca.designs/ -EcoSouk https://www.facebook.com/ecosouk/ Sources: -https://blogbaladi.com/ecosouk-first-lebanese-zerowaste-store-in-lebanon-and-the-middle-east/ -https://altercontacts.medium.com/lockdown-economy-lebanon-in-an-upcycling-arts-crafts-brand-with-samantha-fadlallah-4432bb4284ba -https://youtu.be/GuRrLcYS_9k -https://youtu.be/FowslcA7PZ8

Former E-gen Ambassador Elina Haber

4 Comments

Yuseon Mentor says :
Hi Elina,

This is your mentor Yuseon:D

Finding new ways to up-cycle used items is always exciting.
Using discarded plastic and rubber as a architectural material seems to
be an effective way to deal with a lot of trash, since there requires many
buildings for human.
"Waste isn't waste unless you decide it is" should be something we should
all remeber before discarding something completely.

Posted 02-08-2021 03:33

Debbie Mentor says :
Dear Elina,

This is your mentor Debbie. :)
Although you might feel that the concept of environmental awareness is not as widespread in your country, because we have eco-warriors like yourself, I'm sure your country is already on its way of improvement. I've enjoyed reading about upcycling occurring in various parts of the world. Personally I think innovative thinking is the critical value in upcycling. Thanks for sharing! :)

Best,
Debbie
Posted 02-08-2021 00:34

Asmita Gaire says :
Greetings Elina
I hope you are doing well!
Zero waste shop concept is very great. I believe Lebanon would do great in the upcycling sectors.
Thank you so much for your report.
Keep writing
Kind regards
Asmita Gaire
Posted 31-07-2021 05:09

Bindu Dhakal says :
Hello Elina,
Hope you are doing great,
Thank you for your report on upcycling,
Keep writing,
Green cheers
Bindu
Posted 29-07-2021 01:02