Recycling vs. upcycling: What’s the difference and why it matters?

On Global Recycling Day (18 March 2025), we celebrate the power of rethinking waste. These dedicated hands, belonging to a Re.Bag.Re.Use team member, are skilfully transforming empty Blue Ribbon bread bags into a beautifully handcrafted, multifunctional bag. By upcycling, we extend the life of plastic before it enters the recycling stream, proving that waste can hold real value. True sustainability goes beyond recycling - it’s about reducing, reusing, and repurposing to create lasting environmental and social impact.

As a Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO), Polyco helps ensure more plastic is collected, processed, and kept in the recycling value chain. “Almost everything we throw away could have a second life. With new regulations like the Extended-Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, products and packaging are being designed with recyclability in mind. This means that majority of products can and should be recycled,” says Patricia Pillay, Polyco CEO.

But it doesn’t stop with recycling. With a bit of creativity products and packaging, in many instances, can be upcycled. We have seen so many exciting innovations in the upcycling space.

Global Recycling Day highlights the power of rethinking waste. Understanding the difference between recycling and upcycling allows us to see opportunities where we can close the loop on waste. Let’s explore this more.

Recycling breaks materials down into their core elements to create something entirely new. For example:

• Glass bottles → New glass jars and windows
  
• Aluminium cans → Bicycle frames and airplane parts
  
• Plastic bread bags → Pipes, rubbish-bin liners and even furniture

Upcycling keeps materials as they are, simply transforming them into something useful. For example:

• Glass bottles → Decorative vases or drinking glasses
  
• Aluminium cans → DIY stationery holders
  
• Plastic bread bags → Beautifully crocheted shopping bags have become a popular functional item that are replacing plastic shopping bags. Have a look at the work that Re.Bag.Re.Use is doing; a prime example of upcycling.

Both processes reduce waste and contribute to a secondary resource economy, but they do so in different ways. Recycling breaks materials down and reshapes them into entirely new products, whereas upcycling preserves the original material, giving it a fresh purpose.

Although recycling remains the top priority due to its scalability and long-term impact, upcycling plays an important role in extending the lifespan of plastic before it eventually enters the recycling value chain

"For us at Blue Ribbon, it’s about making the most of every material," adds Stephanie Hoy, marketing executive for Bakeries at Premier FMCG. "Our bread bags are 100% recyclable, and we actively support responsible recycling. But at the same time, we love seeing upcycling projects like Re.Bag.Re.Use giving plastic a second life before it reaches a recycling facility. It’s about sustainability with impact!"

Not every piece of plastic makes it into the recycling system right away. That’s why Blue Ribbon proudly supports upcycling initiatives like Re.Bag.Re.Use, which collects used bread bags and transforms them into crocheted, functional products – all while creating jobs and empowering women in the community.

"We take something that would usually be thrown away and turn it into something beautiful and practical," says Regine le Roux, founder of the Re.Bag.Re.Use initiative. "Upcycling isn’t just about reusing plastic – it’s about creating opportunities, promoting material sustainability, and finding value in our waste."

This Global Recycling Day, let’s rethink waste together – because every bag, bottle, and can has more to give.