The term upcycling refers to the process of giving new life to waste materials, adding value to the substance with minimal energy consumption. The result is a material of significant environmental and qualitative value, making it cleaner and more precious. It transcends the concept of recycling, which involves transforming and reusing a material to generate something new, often at a high energy cost.
The word “upcycling” was first used by Reiner Pilz back in 1994, and today it holds renewed importance as it encapsulates very current themes related to the virtuous circle of the circular economy. It concerns environmental protection and resource conservation in response to the demands of new consumers, who are increasingly segmented by needs but united in embracing new consciousnesses and overcoming the throwaway mentality and unsustainable overconsumption.
The Circular Economy
Due to the increase in the global population, the indiscriminate use of available natural resources inevitably leads to waste or supply limitations, such as in the food sector, due to resource scarcity. The circular economy aims to address these issues by providing tools to raise awareness about waste recovery. This represents one of the best alternatives to mitigate excessive consumption of raw materials. Moreover, it appears to be a promising and efficient option in the medium and long term for preventing, reusing, or recovering natural resources and derived by-products.
Resources from the Food Supply Chain
In particular, a radical change is needed in the management of by-products in the agri-food sector. This can be achieved by reintroducing these materials into other production chains, thus transforming waste into new raw materials, supported by sustainable technologies. This is, in fact, upcycling. Currently, most agri-food waste is utilized as fuel, animal feed, or organic fertilizers.
The ambitious challenge is to derive substances that possess health benefits for humans, thereby representing valuable functional components. This need is already finding concrete responses, especially in the cosmetics field, particularly in the area of ingredients.
From the Food Supply Chain to Cosmetics
From the waste of the agri-food supply chain, bioactive compounds, enzymes, and active substances can be obtained, which are interesting for the wellness industry and significantly contribute to the paradigm shift towards a circular economy. Thanks to the availability of modern technologies combined with the principles of Green Chemistry, new foundations have been established for the effective use of waste and by-products from the agri-food sector, generating high-value-added products. Polyphenols, tannins, flavonoids, flavanols, vitamins (A and E), essential minerals, fatty acids, anthocyanins, enzymes, phytonutrients, prebiotics, and pigments isolated from waste or by-products of pressing or producing nutritional goods are just a few examples of cosmetic upcycling from the food industry. In general, these compounds exhibit a wide range of activities and can be derived in large quantities from both edible and inedible parts of fruits and vegetables.
Peels, Seeds, and Pulp of Fruit
The inedible parts of fruits, such as peels or portions of rind and stems, often contain higher amounts of bioactive compounds compared to other parts of the fruit. For example, apple peels, grape skins, citrus peels, and avocado and mango seeds have a polyphenol content that exceeds that of the pulp by 15%. The fruit processing industry generates a massive volume of waste in the form of a mix of pulp, peel, seeds, and stems. In most cases, this waste contains significantly higher amounts of valuable bioactive compounds than the fruit juice itself. The residues from fruit processing represent an interesting natural bio-resource due to their chemical richness and heterogeneity.
From citrus waste, particularly from lemon peels, significant amounts of pectin can be obtained, a natural polysaccharide that the cosmetic industry uses as a texturizer and stabilizer in formulations. From the processing of grapes in the wine industry, resveratrol is extracted, a powerful antioxidant found in pomace, which consists of the residues from pressing grapes (including skins, seeds, and stems) and in grape seeds.
Dried Fruits
The dried fruit industry also produces other waste of potential cosmetic interest. The processes of crushing and pressing hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, and pistachios generate natural oils with high fatty acid content, used as emollients and lipid-replenishing agents, as well as dry residues like flours.
Vegetables
By-products and waste generated mainly from the inedible parts of vegetables constitute a valuable source of phytonutrients. Waste is generally generated during harvesting or post-harvest stages and includes surplus crops, inedible parts such as leaves, stems, or branches. In this context, various new active and functional ingredients derived from upcycling processes have been launched. These include high-quality virgin oils from pumpkin seeds, extracts from the by-products of the vegetable processing industry, lycopene as a powerful antioxidant derived from tomato processing, and oleuropein, a polyphenol extracted from the wastewater of the olive oil industry.
Dairy and Fish Sector
These are just a few examples, not to mention the bioactive peptides and derivatives from whey and colostrum of animal origin related to the dairy sector, as well as all the bioactive products derived from the processing of fish and shellfish, as well as those from algae.
The Closed Loop
Thus, contributing to upcycling has many implications: environmental, economic, ethical, and social. Enhancing by-products helps minimize waste production and fulfills the concept of “zero waste,” reducing pollution and environmental stress. Agricultural waste has always posed challenges due to its negative ecological impact and disposal management. Moreover, recovering the material influences the supply chain of the eventual cosmetic ingredient because it facilitates shorter supply lines, supporting the drive toward a circular economy. The use of upcycled products significantly influences the image of a cosmetic brand as it represents a declared commitment to sustainability. This aspect aligns with the new ethics sought by brands, which are increasingly attentive to environmental issues and can position themselves well in the market thanks to the judicious use of recovery ingredients.