Research — Help us shape the future of upcycled products & ingredients
QUESTION:
1) How do the practices of recycling, upcycling, waste management, and zero waste inform your current purchasing behavior?
RESPONSE:
Personally, I will describe myself as a zero-waste consumer. If a product is sustainable to the environment and is recyclable, I will rather spend my money on that than some other random products of same purpose.
I am ready to even pay more for a sustainable product and will rather identify with brands that are ready to help protect the environment through the products they release to the market. These products must be products that can be reused, recycled or repaired.
I got a bamboo toothbrush once, and it was cool. It was eco-friendly and I loved it. Once upon a time, I visited a grocery store offering unpackaged fruit and vegetables. It was super awesome. I will love to visit again because they are aware of what too much packaging does to the environment so they shift towards more sustainable packaging forms to decrease the amount of package waste. In addition, there is this uniqueness some of my upcycled product like backpack has, and my friends are like “wow, where did you get this?” That feeling of importance.
If brands shows any form of love for the environment either by recycling, upcycling or encouraging zero waste, then, they sure will get loads of love from me since to some extent, we believe in the same course — helping to protect the environment.
2) Similar to the orange peel story described in this challenge, what ideas do you have for products or ingredients that could be successfully upcycled?
How would the upcycled waste material be used or elevated in value?
The orange peel story was quite fascinating. Below are some ideas I think will be worth the while. All are wastes from the processing of other products. However, this waste to me is the “real deal” Because most time, the waste itself is more nutritious than the product that is made.
Some ingredients that can be upcycled are:
Banana and it’s peel:
Making whole grain banana bread from overripe banana or imperfectly shaped banana that would rather be left on the farm to rot away or trashed.
The banana peels itself has the potential to be turned into a sustainable source of construction material. When processed, it can be used to make shoe sole, or as an alternative to leather used in straps of watches.
Waste from brewers:
When grain is made into beer, the brewing process takes out sugar — leaving behind protein, fiber, and micronutrients. These “waste” from brewers can be processed into floor and further used to create products that floor will normally be used for like snack bars, bread. Research even has it that this floor has twice as much protein, 12 times as much fiber, and one-third of the carbs of regular flour.
Coffee cherry waste:
After removing the coffee beans, what next? Trash the coffee cherry? No! These coffee cherry waste can be processed which converts the coffee cherry into floor. In turn, this is used as an ingredient for bakers and the farmers now has more income.
Waste from excess fruits and Vegetables:
Excess fruits and Vegetables that would otherwise be wasted from food processing plants can be turned into nutritious, shelf-stable chips that do not require preservatives by dehydrating them.
This was a private research done in August, 2021 by Onuzurike Chukwuagozie and also a part of Mindsumo Challenge. It has been laying idle since then on my PC, but I believe you might find it resourceful. I refuse to remain silent! No one should!!
Does this work make me a researcher? Hell Yeah…hahaha
So, if you have any research work, hit me up: onuzurikechukwuagozie@gmail.com
Mindsumo Challenge: Help us shape the future of upcycled products & ingredients
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Onuzurike “Touching Lives” Chukwuagozie
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Onuzurike Chukwuagozie
Touching Lives | Adding Value
onuzurikechukwuagozie@gmail.com
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