upcycle

up·cy·cle | \ ˈəp-ˌsī-kəl

upcycled; upcycling

Definition of upcycle

: to recycle (something) in such a way that the resulting product is of a higher value than the original item : to create an object of greater value from (a discarded object of lesser value) The line upcycles single-use plastic bags that are cleaned and brought in from Bali, Indonesia, and parts of California for use as the main material in the shoes. In the company's first year more than 175,000 plastic bags were reused to create footwear and accessories.— Melissa Magsaysay

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Examples of upcycle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Have your children grab an old pair of jeans and upcycle them into a lunch bag. — Andrea Silen, National Geographic, "Activities to teach kids about climate change," 10 Mar. 2020 Featuring a slew of emerging designers, many of whom who upcycle their goods, the pop-up will run until June 8. — Sara Radin, Teen Vogue, "Poche Studio Is the Fashion Brand Making Bucket Hats Inspired by Cakes," 17 May 2019 What better way to upcycle old shipping pallets then by displaying your liquor collection on them? — Good Housekeeping, "This Shipping Pallet Bar Cart Is So Easy You Can DIY It In a Weekend," 15 Aug. 2018 Since 2013, students at Pratt Institute have had to upcycle clothes into new designs. — Ray A. Smith, WSJ, "Today’s Chic Look? ‘Upcycled’ Clothes," 14 Apr. 2018 Whiskertin originated when Novak, who had been in the heating, venting and air conditioning business for two decades, saw a leftover piece of pipe and wanted to upcycle it into a light fixture. — Nikki Delamotte, cleveland.com, "Akron's Whiskertin Lighting opens new showroom (photos)," 11 Apr. 2018 On Sunday, March 11 at the Manchester Historical Society's Cheney Homestead on Hartford Road, visitors got a hands-on opportunity to upcycle their own old cloth rags into a community rag rug project. — Annie Gentile, Courant Community, "Rag Rug Project Upcycles Old Cloth," 22 Mar. 2018 Novak had been in the heating, venting and air conditioning business for two decades when a leftover piece of pipe sparked the idea to attempt to upcycle it into a light fixture. — Nikki Delamotte, cleveland.com, "Rock 'n' roll meets industrial decor in Akron's Whiskertin Lighting (photos)," 27 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'upcycle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.