Did you know that on average a French person throws 33 kg of furniture per year ?
Nationally, this represents approximately 2 million tonnes of furniture thrown away every year. A significant quantity that we don't always realize! To respond to this problem of waste and overconsumption: “when things no longer work, we throw away”; recycling is growing. Sorting bins to recycle your daily waste, bulky waste removal service, plants from your municipality or recycling center for objects, furniture and other larger waste: there are many solutions to manage and recycle your waste. However, it is possible to give a second life to your unused materials and objects.
Why throw away or burn planks of wood when you can make a headboard, a shelf or a table top? Why not sell that object or piece of furniture that you no longer want to share with others?
8 out of 10 French people buy second-hand furniture (Nf: Site-Announce.fr survey) and thus promote this circular economy. In this world recycling day, we tell you all about new trends likeupcycling or second-hand fashion inventory and how to give your furniture a second life!
Recycling: destroying to recreate
First of all, it seems essential to us to give you some details on the nature of the word "recycling". This term designates an industrial process of destroying a product in order to obtain a reusable raw material. For example, when plastic bottles are thrown away, they are destroyed in order to recover the raw material to manufacture other products. In recycling, there is inevitably loss of quality during the destruction process and manufacturing. Nevertheless, this process is very useful since it allows transform discarded materials to give them a second life and thus reduce our impact on the environment. We told you about it in our article on natural and sustainable materials, but several furniture brands are getting into plastic recycling to create recycled plastic furniture. So this is an ingenious idea to transform a material that is thrown away en masse and all too easily. If you want to recycle your objects or furniture without throwing them away or destroying them, new concepts are becoming more and more important. We present them to you here!
A second life at your fingertips
La second-hand fashion inventory has become a big trend for both fashion and furniture. Thrift stores, flea markets, or online resale platforms: all contribute to development and fashion of second hand. Whether it's clothing or furniture, it's now easy to recycle and reuse. If you want to buy furniture to furnish your interior, it is interesting to look on second-hand sites ou to hunt for the rare pearl.
Having and buying second hand is not just responding to a trend or the problem of waste. Indeed, it is also the means to create a decoration that suits you, to let your creativity, personality anddecorate your interior with unique objects or furniture. You will be able to change your interior at a lower price and resell your old furniture to benefit others.
Upcycling or the art of upgrading your objects
Upcycling (upcycling in French), still little known to the general public (1 out of 5 French people 19% of the population knows this term), is a bit different from simple recycling. Indeed, while the latter implies a transformation or destruction of waste for the creation of a new product; upcycling, uses the object in its existing state without industrial transformation or destruction.
Thus, it allows both to breathe new life into unused materials ready to be thrown away and reduce our impact on the environmentBy using the upcycling method, we reduce our waste! 🍃
To give you a more precise idea of this new concept, take for example an industrial pallet. Once the goods are unloaded, these pallets are rarely of much use. Well, upcycling would be to salvage those materials and use them to create a bed or a sofa!
Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed
Upcycling is therefore an ingenious way to transform your interior cheaper. Indeed,
no need to buy new and pay for a dining table or coffee table hundreds of dollars. You can craft it using an old solid wood plank found at the back of your garden. If you want to be more original, get an old wooden door, sand it and varnish it to protect it from stains.
For the feet ? To mix authenticity and design, you can purchase legs in raw steel or in a black finish. You will thus obtain a dinner table or an coffee table original at an affordable price (since the only expense will be your table legs).
Our selection of table legs
But upcycling doesn't stop at a single table. In reality, it is possible to transform any piece of furniture in wood, steel, plastic or glass. The limit is your imagination !
You no longer use your wooden crates (crates)? Attach them to the wall and use them for storage. Glass bottles or jars are piling up in your cupboards and you don't know what to do with them? Personalize them by painting them matte black or the color of your choice. Then arrange them in your kitchen to store your utensils or use the bottles as a vase. A DIY easy to do here will do wonders in your interior.
Do you want to change your furniture, but don't have the budget for it? Simply purchase any wallpaper of your choice and / or paint. Paint your furniture the chosen color and if it is a display cabinet, apply wallpaper to the bottom and sand or repaint the rest of the cabinet. You will then have transformed your furniture in no time !
@ house & work
So, upcycling is the idea of make something old beautiful and about to be dumped. As we have shown you, the ways of transforming your furniture or objects are diverse and varied. From the most simple and classic of ideas to the most complex and original, it is up to you to let your creativity speak.
The upcycling trend is becoming more and more important in our societies and the French want to follow it. Indeed, on a study carried out among 1008 people, 1 out of 2 French people (18-34 years old mainly) has shown an interest in upcycling and is ready to buy a product of this type (nf: Realtime YouGov August 2020). A good concept to keep in mind! ????
Transform your old furniture while respecting the environment? It's possible !
As concerns and issues related to the environment are increasingly present in our societies, we would like to remind you 3 ways to give a second life to your objects:
- Le recycling : a well-known technique for get rid of old furniture. Materials and materials that can be recycled are destroyed to be reborn in a new form, look and appearance. However, it is important to know that although it allows to declutter our interior, recycling transforms recyclable materials thanks to a industrial process somewhat polluting!
- La second-hand fashion inventory : buy a second hand has become common in recent years and it seems far from disappearing. Indeed, the different concepts of thrift stores, flea markets or online platforms only promote this trend. An ingenious way to buy, generally, at low prices.
- The upcycling : still little known to the general public, it is of the concept to adopt if you are fan of recycling, DIY and if you want reduce your impact on the environment. By imagining and letting your creativity speak, you quickly realize that everything is transformed!
If this article made you want to create and give a new look to your furniture or everyday objects: take a look at our advice, tips and DIY ! You might find some great ideas that are easy to do.
The Ripaton team 🚀