Waste Diverted: Our Recorded Results
Many organisations publish impact numbers. We publish numbers we can show our working for.
Every figure on this page comes from completed production cycles recorded in our master production ledger, calculated from confirmed product specifications and published emission factors. Nothing is estimated, projected, or counted twice. If a cycle is still in production, it is not in these totals. When it completes, the numbers below grow.
These figures come from real production: conference and messenger bags, mattress covers, and other functional products sewn from recovered banner and billboard material by community makers.
| Period covered | Last updated |
|---|---|
| March 2024 – June 2026 | July 2026 |
| Waste material transformed into products | Area of material converted | Products made by community makers | Greenhouse gas savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1480 kg | 5,108 m² | 14 488 | 6 636 kg CO₂-eq |
| Waste type diverted | Area converted (m²) | Weight (kg) | Avoided emissions (kg CO₂-eq) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PVC billboard vinyl | 723.6 | 434.2 | 1 063.7 |
| Polyester banner | 3 948.5 | 977.6 | 5 206.3 |
| Cotton, pre-consumer reject stock | 431.7 | 68 | 361.6 |
| Dress fabric blend, 60/40 | 4.9 | 8 | 4.7 |
Figures cover production cycles completed between October 2025 and June 2026. Earlier production history is being checked against source records and will be added, so these totals understate our full impact and will grow.
How We Count
We hold our numbers to a standard we can defend line by line:
Completed production only. A cycle enters our totals once the products are finished and confirmed against our production records, never before. Work in progress carries no impact claim.
Counted once. Each production cycle is recorded once, in the period it was first counted. Totals never double count across reports or reporting periods.
Mass-based. We measure the actual material transformed, calculated from confirmed product specifications and fabric weights, not from estimates or area shortcuts.
Conservative by design. Our greenhouse gas figures use published production-stage emission factors, currently the 2026 PlasticsEurope PVC eco-profile for PVC vinyl and the lowest credible published value for polyester, applied to measured material mass. Transport, tooling, new input materials, and secondary reuse effects are all excluded, so our reported figures represent minimum impact rather than best case.
Commercial activity only. These figures reflect the production work of Upcycle Creative (Pty) Ltd.
Compiled internally, openly. These figures are compiled internally from our own production records, using the method set out above. They are not independently assured. We publish our calculation basis, our exclusions, and our sources so that anyone can check our working, and we will provide the underlying records to any client who asks.
What This Means for Your Organisation
When you partner with us, your project’s figures come from this same ledger and the same method. Programme clients receive an impact report on this basis covering their own reporting periods, with the calculation shown, so the numbers can go in front of your sustainability team, your auditors, and your stakeholders with the working attached.
