To upcycle something is to take a used object and adapt it in an innovative¹ way to a new function. Unlike recycling, which usually involves breaking down the material an object is made from, before it is made into something else (thereby using more energy), upcycling involves using something in a new way without doing anything to reprocess the material it's made from. As well as being more energy efficient, another major benefit of upcycling is that it makes it possible to reuse items made of materials which couldn't be dealt with by conventional recycling methods. When something is upcycled, nothing, or very little, is discarded, with every component² part or material having a potential use.

将某样东西upcycle（即“改造再利用”）其实就是用创新的方式将其改造以让其发挥新的功效。循环利用（recycling）通常是将一样东西的全部材料完全拆解，然后将其制作成别的东西（由此消耗了更多能源），与其不同的是，改造再利用（upcycling）不会对原材料进行任何再处理，而是换个方式利用它们。除了节能以外，改造再利用的另一个优点就是能够让那些传统循环方式无法回收处理的物品再次被利用。某样东西在被改造再利用的过程中，很少或几乎没有材料会被废弃，每个部件都有它潜在的用途。