The Green Team have also pushed measures to reduce waste at the ASRC, including by installing compost bins and a terracycling centre. The terracycling station “upcycles” dental waste, including used toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes. The ASRC has been paid $35 for this waste and saved 10kg from landfill.

Upcycling heisst der Design-Trend der Stunde. Als Rohstoffe für die neuen Produkte dienen dabei Abfälle – für viele eine sinnvolle Sache. Trotzdem gibt es auch kritische Stimmen.

Der amerikanische Upcycling-Unternehmer Tom Szaky, Chef und Gründer von Terra Cycle, widerspricht beiden Kritikpunkten in seinem Buch zum Thema: Wenn ein Konsument beispielsweise einen Rucksack aus Capri-Sonne-Verpackungen kaufe, so Szakys Argumentation, müsse nicht extra ein neuer Rücksack hergestellt werden. Damit werde der Abfallberg kleiner, auch wenn der Capri-Sonne-Rucksack dereinst weggeworfen werde. Szaky verweist im Buch zudem ­explizit auf den geringeren Energiebedarf von Upcycling- im Vergleich zu neu hergestellten Produkten. Auch Szaky weiss aber, dass Upcycling allein das Abfallproblem nicht lösen kann. Im Verhältnis zum weltweiten Müll sei Upcycling nur ein winziger ­Nischenmarkt, schreibt er.

Recycling  is important to Roz Liddell but drinking coffee is not. Even so, when the Lodge Floral Studio owner received a letter from Nespresso asking if her boutique business in Waitara would like to become a collection point for people to recycle their coffee pods, she jumped at the chance. Nespresso began contacting garden centres and florists to ask if they'd become collection points. "I literally rang them that afternoon and said I'm in." Nespresso supplies the collection boxes, which each hold 20kg of pods. "These [boxes] are picked up by courier post. We get our pre-packs all sent with courier stickers so it doesn't cost us anything. They go to TerraCycle." About three boxes are filled each month at Lodge Floral Studio. Once they're sent away the elements of the capsules are separated and turned into garden furniture like chairs and garden bricks. "I've always thought before you throw something away, what can you do with it to reuse it or can you recycle it," she said.

The students of St Josephs's Catholic School in Matamata want your oral care waste. The school is collecting oral care waste as part of the Colgate Community Recycle Drive competition. The competition is in partnership between Colgate and TerraCycle. Just by submitting a collection of oral care waste, the school can go into the draw to win one of 20, $1000 cash prizes or one of two recycled park benches, valued at $1500 and made entirely of oral care waste. TerraCycle recycles and upcycles waste instead of incinerating it or adding to landfill. They also provide "waste" with a new life, creating usable new products out of items that would have been thrown out, such as the park benches made from oral care waste. It offers free recycling programmes, including the Oral care Recycling Programme, funded by brands, manufacturers, and retailers around the world to help people collect and recycle hard-to-recycle waste.

Experts at the Sustainable Brands Event 2016 in Sydney discussed how businesses need to rethink their marketing message to consumers and why the language some businesses adopt might not be working. CEO of eco-capitalist and upcycling company TerraCycle, Tom Szaky, said there is a big difference in what businesses think consumers value and what consumers actually understand.

CEO of eco-capitalist and upcycling company TerraCycle, Tom Szaky, said there is a big difference in what businesses think consumers value and what consumers actually understand. “Things like how a product is made usually gets undervalued by consumers," he explained. "You need to find out what your consumers value – and it may not be the first thing you initially have on your list."

Tom Szaky, founder and chief executive of TerraCycle – a leader in eco-capitalism and upcycling, shared insights into how his brand has grown by engaging consumers in recycling post-consumer products and packaging.

Für die Wirtschaft hatte Wachstum bislang oberste Priorität – ungeachtet der Kosten für die Umwelt. Dabei schließen sich Umweltschutz und wirtschaftliches Handeln nicht aus. Einige Start-ups, unter anderem TerraCycle, zeigen, dass man profitabel handeln kann, ohne dabei die Umwelt zu belasten. Allerdings haben es diese Gründer dank Regularien und Vorschriften oft nicht einfach.

School students have been told the value of up-cycling as part of national recycling week featuring Terracycle.

Wertvolle Ressourcen können auf kreative Weise wiederverwendet werden. Wie? Zum Beispiel indem daraus ein neues Bürodesign entsteht. Türen werden zu Tischplatten, aus Schallplatten oder Korken wird ein Sichtschutz zum angrenzenden Kollegen und aus Shampooflaschen werden Raumtrenner.