Every year in the UK we produce more than 100 million tonnes of waste. We’re going to need to start being creative about how we manage this ever growing problem.
This is where Upcycling comes in. It’s a creative way to reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills and the amount of CO2 emissions, by using old materials instead of new ones.
What's the difference between Upcycling and Recycling?
Unlike recycling where the item is broken down and then turned into something else (e.g. carpets being made out of plastic drink bottles), upcycling is the process of converting old or discarded materials into something useful and often beautiful. You could turn a picture frame into a serving tray, an old pallet into a coffee table, a jumper into a stylish cushion or a ladder into a book shelf. The possibilities are endless.
We’ve teamed up with Judy Rom from ‘
Upcycle That’ and have challenged her to transform items, that you may find in a self storage unit, into something useful and beautiful. I’m sure you will agree that she has managed just that with this Gumball Terrarium. Terrariums are an easy and inexpensive way to decorate your home or office and add a burst of colour.
Judy is passionate about upcycling and hopes to inspire others to as well. She believes everyone can do it! Judy, who can’t walk passed a Charity Shop without going in, couldn’t hide her excitement when we started chatting about all the things that could be in a self storage (lamps, suitcases, tennis rackets) and what she could do with them. More video tutorials to follow!
To see other videos in this series, visit our
Upcycling page or
YouTube channel
Are you inspired?
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Just as landfill space is finite, so is your home, so if you are thinking of throwing something away but think you may be able to upcycle it instead, why not make use of self storage to keep it safe and dry until you have time to make it into something you’ll want to keep? We have 120 storage facilities nationwide so there is bound to be one near you.