The EcoArk is just one example of how Arthur Huang turns trash into treasure. He is convinced that most of the waste people produce can be used as resources to make something else. And the new product can be more valuable than the original. This idea is called upcycling. 

To turn this idea into action, Huang started the company Miniwiz. The name comes from the company’s motto: “It is wise to minimize.” His goal is to help people minimize their carbon footprint by using upcycled products. That will also reduce the amount of waste in the world, especially plastic. Plastic drink bottles, for instance, were upcycled to make polli-bricks. This is only one of about 1,200 new materials Miniwiz has created from trash.

When it comes to materials and products that can be made of upcycled trash, the sky’s the limit. Literally. Miniwiz has developed a material from plastic waste that is used to make wings for a one-person airplane. That’s one invention that really puts the “up” in upcycling!

What other wonders have come out of Miniwiz’s “trash lab?" How about furniture made out of cigarette butts—the most littered item in the world? Then there are sunglasses made from CDs. And don't forget sneakers made from upcycled plastic that come packaged in a clear shoebox that can be refolded into a backpack.

Often the trickiest part of upcycling is figuring out how to do it. How do you actually change plastic garbage into a useful material or product? Sometimes, you have to invent a machine and a whole new way of doing things. That’s exactly what the creative minds at Miniwiz did.

Trashpresso is an assembly line of several machines working together. The process begins by shredding the plastic trash, usually bottles, into flakes. The flakes are then washed, dried, and placed into molds. The flakes are melted in an oven and pressed into the shape of the mold. Most of the shapes are six-sided tiles that people can use to build walls, floors, or ceilings, or for decoration. Trashpresso is designed to have a zero carbon footprint. It doesn’t burn fossil fuels. Instead, solar panels capture sunlight and turn it into electricity.

One of the most important features of Trashpresso is that it can go just about anywhere. This portability allows Huang to use his invention to educate people everywhere about the problem of plastic trash and to inspire them to do what they can to be part of the solution.

Most economies today are linear. This means resources are used to make a product. The product is used and then thrown away, producing waste and pollution. But in a circular economy, waste is used as a resource to make the product again or to make another product. So there really is no such thing as waste in a circular economy.