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Upcycle Your Waste
Upcycling takes waste and turns it into something better. It’s more energy-efficient than recycling: rather than breaking down an object and starting from scratch, upcycling improves the existing item. This way, waste becomes something worth more—better for the planet and better for your bank balance.
Norwich BID worked with Small & Medium Enterprises from across the city to build a circular economy in Norwich through the ‘Upcycle Your Waste’ initiative. This project aimed to take waste produced by local businesses and turn it into new resources. As an EU initiative, it was free to all participating businesses, offering them the opportunity to save money on waste costs and reduce the waste they sent to landfill.
In 2020, Norwich BID conducted audits of over 250 companies in the city to understand what was going on in their bins. The results were staggering:
- 1.25 tonnes of coffee grounds every single month.
- Hundreds of pieces of plastic and polythene waste, daily.
- Over 50 tonnes of food waste each month.
Additionally, the initiative encouraged businesses to start thinking differently about where they sourced raw materials and to question whether the things they were discarding were truly “rubbish.”
The project helped build a community where dozens of Norwich businesses created new and exciting products using the smallest possible amount of virgin resources, while others reduced their environmental impact by better understanding and managing their waste.