Upcycling in practice, or is Tiny House a way to clean up our planet?

Upcycling is a new phenomenon in our culture. This concept appeared in the literature on the subject only in 1999 in the publication of Riemann Verlag. Upcycling is giving objects perceived as waste or garbage new utility functions, and thus reintroducing them into the consumer circulation. This is an innovative approach to recycling as such. The current perception of recycling as a process of recovering raw materials and materials from used items after the end of their consumer cycle is not sufficient in the current era.

Upcycling vs. Recycling, i.e. the circulation of energy in consumer products.

Let's take a sea container as an example. At the end of its "service at sea", it can be recycled. So first you have to cut the bulky and spacious container into smaller pieces. Then we have to transport these pieces to the steelworks, where they are melted down and in this way we will recover the material from which the container was made. From this recovered material, as a result of another technological process, we will obtain reinforcing construction steel that can be used to build a house. This is a classic material cycle in the recycling process, where we first significantly reduce the utility value of the product, reduce it only to the position of a raw material, and from the raw material obtained in this way we produce other goods. Unfortunately, cutting the container, transporting the obtained scrap, melting the scrap, manufacturing rebar all consume energy. A lot of energy is needed to get only one of the components of the building from the container.

In the case of upcycling, we avoid "adding" new energy. It is energy production that is key to protecting our planet. It is energy production that is the source of pollution and greenhouse gases. By avoiding "adding energy" in the upcycling process, we reduce the pressure we put on the natural environment.

Let's go back to our example container. It has finished its "service at sea" and instead of being scrapped, it goes to a company that produces modular houses. Such a mini house made of a container does not require additional energy. The container is not cut, it is not melted down, we do not produce anything else from it. We use "waste" as a ready-made, full-fledged object for which we find a new use. Hence Up and not Recycling. We do not reduce the product to the role of the raw material from which it was made, but in its full present form we find a new application for it.

Upcycling in the process of creating a mini house.

Our sample container doesn't need any extra "energy" to become the shell of a mini house. It is used in the form in which it is delivered to the company. It is only subject to the processes of increasing its value as a utility item, it is not degraded to the level of the material from which it was made. This has two consequences. The first effect is the lower amount of energy that we have to produce in relation to the construction of a traditional house. Which reduces our pressure on the environment. In the realities of our country, it means less ashes going to landfills, less greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere, less fossil fuels burned when transporting coal to power plants, etc. The second effect of this situation is economic savings. Since our Tiny House does not need additional energy during its construction, it is cheaper. After all, energy costs money.

In sum. By choosing a modular house based on a sea container, we not only choose a fashionable and elegant solution, but at the same time, and perhaps above all, we save money and save our planet by finding a new use for the would-be "garbage". In this way, we give a new consumer life to a product that has already been consumed once, increasing its utility values ​​instead of lowering them. So we implement the philosophy of Upcycling in 100%.

Modern modular homes available at distripark.com .

*This article is for informational purposes only. The presented description, in particular the use of the products, is exemplary and constitutes non-binding information about the characteristics and possibilities of their use/application. In any case, before using the product, consult a specialist whether the specific use is safe and justified. We do not bear any responsibility for the use of the proposed solutions, even in very similar situations.