downcycle
Reclaim with diminishment
Downcycle means to recycle materials into products of lower quality or reduced functionality than the original.
Paper downcycled into cardboard can't become fine paper again; plastic bottles become park benches rather than new bottles.
The term contrasts with upcycle, where waste becomes something more valuable.
Most plastic can only be downcycled a few times before it's unusable.
For one application only
- packagingProtective product enclosure
- carpetThick floor textile
- insulationThermal transfer prevention
- fleeceWool still on sheep
Reducing rank or status
- repurposingAdapting for different use
- reprocessingHandling material again
- shreddingCutting into thin pieces
- meltingSolid-to-liquid transition
grinding · pulping · blending · dilution · contamination · feedstock · pelletizing · flaking
System with feedback control
- cradle-to-graveSpanning entire lifetime
- end-of-lifeNearing death phase
- lifecycleStages from beginning to end
- disposabilityMeant to be discarded
single-use
For one application only
- packagingProtective product enclosure
- carpetThick floor textile
- insulationThermal transfer prevention
fleece · filler · stuffing · roadbed · aggregate · pallets · crates
downgrading
Reducing rank or status
- repurposingAdapting for different use
- reprocessingHandling material again
- shreddingCutting into thin pieces
melting · grinding · pulping · blending · dilution · contamination · feedstock · pelletizing · flaking
closed-loop
System with feedback control
- cradle-to-graveSpanning entire lifetime
- end-of-lifeNearing death phase
- lifecycleStages from beginning to end
disposability · extraction · consumption · greenwashing · zero-waste
- recyclingrecyclable, MRF, single-stream, curbside, curbside pickup
- waste reductionreuse, refill, repair, refurbish, repurpose