1. Upcycle- Repurpose Project
Taking care of waste one treasure at a time!!

2. Purpose
You (the student) will take material that is headed for its final resting place in the landfill (cradle to grave) and give new life in the form of a new item (cradle to cradle). Key words: Upcycle, Repurpose, Recycle (not downcycle)

3. What do I start with?
Brainstorm a list of products that each of you uses everyday that ends up in the trash.
Choose one item from your list, and write down the following pieces of information regarding your product.
What is the purpose of the product?
What is the product currently made up of?
Discuss whether or not the purpose of your product could be redesigned to achieve the same purpose while using less raw materials.

4. Look up information using these terms:
Repurposing
Upcycle
Recycle
Trash to treasure

5. Presentation
Environmental Awareness Statement: (power point and / or presentation board).
How will your product help the environment?
Describe 2 negative effects that your product(s) has on the environment.
Relate to APES curriculum.
Documentation promotes recycling and repurposing. Connection between project and APES curriculum. Took time to educate others on the benefit of their project.

6. Presentation Example: Coffee bag basket
Environmental Awareness Statement:
Coffee Bags Can’t Be Recycled
Describe 2 negative effects that your product(s) has on the environment.
The “foil” coffee bags are a multilayered package, making them non-recyclable. The foil is fused to a thin layer of plastic. This combining of disparate materials makes the end product impossible to recycle, because the two components can’t be separated.
How will your product help the environment?
Relate to APES curriculum.
Documentation promotes recycling and repurposing. Connection between project and APES curriculum. Took time to educate others on the benefit of their project.