upcycling

thumb|upright|Food cans upcycled into a stool Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products perceived to be of greater quality, such as artistic value or environmental value. thumb|Upcycling visual representation (non-official) Norberto Miranda (2025).

==Description== Upcycling is the opposite of downcycling, which is the other part of the recycling process. Downcycling involves converting materials and products into new materials, sometimes of lesser quality. Most recycling involves converting or extracting useful materials from a product and creating a different product or material.thumb|This upcycled cutting board was made from boxcar floorboards that were taken from a railroad salvage yard.thumb|Footbridge supported on a former wind turbine blade in Szprotawa