Thinking Outside the Bin

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Originally appears in the Fall 2018 issue.

FOR THE AVERAGE young adult, recycling can seem boring and like a chore. What if we saw recycling as a critical life skill, and thought “outside the bin” with creative ways to repurpose items? In this article we provide suggestions on framing upcycling1 and recycling as life skills with a group of young adults who have developmental disabilities. The activities herein required the participating individuals to think carefully about their prior experiences with recycling, and to put their creativity to the test in building new items. These activities could also be used in a multitude of settings, ranging from traditional or special education K-12 classrooms to group home residential facilities.

According to Hipcycle, “upcycling is the process of converting old or discarded materials into something useful and often beautiful. It’s giving the item a better purpose.” This is not a new concept. Throughout history and around the world, families have often repurposed items, especially when money has been tight. In the past five years, the upcycling trend has become mainstream. Many businesses such as Terracycle, Playback Clothing, Hipcycle, and Preserve have been built on this idea. All of these companies follow the same principle: to reduce waste by creating products with materials from which they are not typically made. They sell bags made out of juice pouches and snack wrappers, and jewelry made out of vinyl records, just to name a few examples. Not only does upcycling allow people to be creative, but it reduces our collective carbon footprint!