You may have come across the 3 Rs of sustainability – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – or even the 7 Rs (or even 9 Rs) of sustainability (see our previous blog on this).

We are examining these in a little more detail – here is the sixth in the pyramid – Re-purpose

Re-purposing is when you use something for a different purpose from that which it was originally intended.

Here are some examples of re-purposing:

  • I use building bricks from demolished walls to make garden paths and stepping stones;
  • the school art room has old tin cans (the ones with push-on lids like cocoa tins and syrup tins) which are used to store paint brushes;
  • I have used dog food containers with press fit lids are used to store different screws, nails and other fittings;
  • old, leaky water butts have been cut down and are used as planters in the garden;
  • old broken pallets, oak floor boards and old rugby balls have been used to make nest boxes;
  • using yoghurt pots as plant pots.

If you repurpose something rather than throwing it away or recycling it, you give something a new life instead of using new materials for that purpose. Reducing the amount of new “stuff” that you buy reduces our environmental footprint by reducing the amount of energy we consume, reduces the amount of raw materials that are needed to make our “stuff”, and hopefully reduces the amount of waste material.

Re-purposing and up-cycling are very similar – if you up-cycle something you usually increase the value of the item you are re-purposing perhaps by decorating it.

What have you re-purposed or up-cycled? Share your ideas in the comments section below.