SYDNEY (Reuters) – Rather than throwing that bag or hosepipe into the recycle bin, how about turning it into a belt or a shower curtain, joining a growing band of upcyclers?

Upcycling refers to reusing an object in a new way without degrading the material it is made from, as opposed to recycling which generally involves breaking down the original material and making it into something else, using more energy.

Supporters of the environmentally friendly practice of upcycling say people in developing countries have effectively been upcycling for years, using old packaging and clothing in new ways, although more out of need than for the environment.

But upcycling is now taking off in other countries, reflecting an increased interest in eco-friendly products, particularly ones that are priced at an affordable level and proving profitable for the manufacturers.

“If upcycling is going to become mainstream, then the corporate world needs to see that it can be profitable,” said Albe Zakes, spokesman of U.S. company TerraCycle which specializes in finding new uses for discarded packaging.

A growing number of companies are focusing on upcycling although the trend is still in its infancy with industry-wide figures yet to be produced.

Upcycling is used on a range of products including jewelry, furniture and fashion items, such as making bracelets from old flip flops, lamps from blenders, and turning skateboards into furniture such as chairs and bookcases.

British company Elvis & Kresse Organization (E&KO) uses industrial waste to make new luxury products, turning fire hoses into bags, belts, wallets and cufflinks.

E&KO co-founder James Henrit said they avoid what they call “virgin materials,” instead opting for scrap sail cloth or furniture textiles in their lines.

“We are very much a social enterprise, and we’re hoping to change the landscape of the luxury accessories industry by leading by example,” Henrit told Reuters Television on the sidelines of the London Design Festival.

A design store in Vienna in Austria called Gabarage lets customers rifle through trash like used plastic covers, old computer chips, and discarded X-rays and pick what they like to create their own individual bag.

All the single pieces of waste chosen are put together by the creative team of “garbage upcycling design.”

“Upcycling stands in contrast to recycling,” said spokesman Daniel Strobel. “We upvalue products innovatively, instead of just reusing them.”

August 5, 2009—Talk about a sea change.

From 2006 through 2009, Central Asia’s vast Aral Sea dramatically retreated, with its eastern section losing about 80 percent of its water in just four years (above, newly released NASA satellite images are animated to show the regression).

The immense body of water, which straddles Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan (see map), was once the world’s fourth largest freshwater lake.

But in the past 30 years, 60 percent of the lake has disintegrated, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory.

In the 1960s farmers in this arid region began diverting water from two major rivers that flow into the lake to irrigate cotton fields and rice paddies.

By the end of the 1980s, the Aral had split in two lakes: the Small Aral Sea to the north and the horseshoe-shaped Large Aral Sea to the south.

By 2000 the Large Aral Sea had split into two sections, an eastern and western lobe.

Without an influx of freshwater, the concentration of salts and minerals in the soil began to build up, making the remaining water saltier. This caused the commercial fishing industry to collapse.

Many people have since switched to rice farming, which requires even more diverted water, according to Earth Observatory.

The governments of the surrounding countries have not tried to slow the lake’s demise, experts say, and the poverty-stricken region’s dependence on exports means that the southern section of the lake may soon be gone for good.