Recycling can be a downward spiral, but upcycled, repurposed design transforms rubbish into something more valuable
Recycling makes people feel good. We see those three arrows chasing each other and we like to believe that our garbage is part of a virtuous circle of production where a milk jug comes back as a milk jug. After all, the prefix re means again and implies that it is being used for the same purpose.
In fact most of the time it is being what architect Bill McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart call downcycled, turned into a product of lower value. Recycling is not a virtuous circle; its a downward spiral. It should really be considered a poor third choice after reducing and reusing. There is also a fourth option that is seriously gaining ground, and thats repurposing.
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