Stop by Etsy and search "Upcycled" and "Repurposed" and you'll find some ingenious ways people have contributed to reducing landfill, reclaiming bits of Americana, and some brilliant creativity. Here are a few examples.
"Upcycling" is a term coined by William McDonough and Michael Braugart in their book Cradle to Cradle. Basically it means taking something normally disposed of (especially post-consumer waste) and creating something new out of it.
I'm doing my bit of upcycling today. Well, to be totally honest, it's not quite upcycling in the officially official sense of the word. I pick up "trash" jewelry from yard sales (single earrings, broken brooches, abandoned pendants, loose cabochons) and put it in my "stash" of things from which to create. I hit a few yard sales today and fortunately one person was wise enough to put all their "trash" jewelry out in bags. I think most people assume no one wants that sort of thing, but I did, and I bought it, and came home with a few things I'm kind of excited to use: some filigree items that would've been quite at home at vintaj.com; a couple of cat's eye glass cabs that I plan to practice wire wrapping on; a few cute little charms, some of which used to be earrings; and 3 bracelets worth of beads that I will definitely make use of, including one that is either carnelian or red agate ovals and very pretty.
In true upcycling, people take things that most people consider trash -- cereal boxes, milk cartons, plastic shopping bags -- and make things out of them. Lots of this stuff is "kitschy" and really not my taste, but here's a listing for an item I LOVE:
