Recycling History and Origins
Recycling has been a common practice for most of human history, with recorded advocates as far back as Plato in the fourth century BC.[citation needed] During periods when resources were scarce and hard to come by, archaeological studies of ancient waste dumps show less household waste (such as ash, broken tools, and pottery)—implying more waste was being recycled in the absence of new material.[7]
In pre-industrial times, there is evidence of scrap bronze and other metals being collected in Europe and melted down for continuous reuse.[8] Paper recycling was first recorded in 1031 when Japanese shops sold repulped paper.[9][10] In Britain dust and ash from wood and coal fires was collected by "dustmen" and downcycled as a base material used in brick making. The main driver for these types of recycling was the economic advantage of obtaining recycled feedstock instead of acquiring virgin material, as well as a lack of public waste removal in ever more densely populated areas.[7] In 1813, Benjamin Law developed the process of turning rags into "shoddy" and "mungo" wool in Batley, Yorkshire. This material combined recycled fibers with virgin wool.[11] The West Yorkshire shoddy industry in towns such as Batley and Dewsbury lasted from the early 19th century to at least 1914.
Industrialization spurred demand for affordable materials; aside from rags, ferrous scrap metals were coveted as they were cheaper to acquire than virgin ore. Railroads both purchased and sold scrap metal in the 19th century, and the growing steel and automobile industries purchased scrap in the early 20th century. Many secondary goods were collected, processed and sold by peddlers who scoured dumps and city streets for discarded machinery, pots, pans, and other sources of metal. By World War I, thousands of such peddlers roamed the streets of American cities, taking advantage of market forces to recycle post-consumer materials back into industrial production.[12]
Beverage bottles were recycled with a refundable deposit at some drink manufacturers in Great Britain and Ireland around 1800, notably Schweppes.[13] An official recycling system with refundable deposits was established in Sweden for bottles in 1884 and aluminum beverage cans in 1982; the law led to a recycling rate for beverage containers of 84–99 percent depending on type, and a glass bottle can be refilled over 20 times on average.[14] This article was cited from Wikipedia.
In pre-industrial times, there is evidence of scrap bronze and other metals being collected in Europe and melted down for continuous reuse. Paper recycling was first recorded in 1031 when a Chinese Emperor decreed that wastepaper be collected for reuse. Recycling of glass bottles and other metal objects has been documented for many centuries, similar to paper.[1] These programs diverted 8 million tonnes from landfills in 2012 in the US alone.[2]
The desire to regulate and improve recyclable materials was in evidence by the British Recycling Association (founded in 1961) which set up a Recycling Hotline for householders who wished to put out recycling for collection. Mandatory recycling programs became more common during the 1970s and 1980s as municipal landfill usage decreased. Recycling is now a global industry, with specific markets that support its trade. Recycling has been evident throughout history, including in the pre-industrial cities of England: Scrap metal was important to early communities; realising its value for re-use, people gathered it up and brought it back to their settlements when they noticed it needed reprocessing. This was extended to pottery, another part of daily life that needed re-smelting and re-casting, along with the recycling of other materials including paper products.[9]
In some cases there is evidence that in the pre-modern period an informal secondary market for selling recycled goods developed in communities alongside the more formal (often institution-based) systems. Recycling systems for material wealth have been created for millennia, with writers in ancient Greece and Rome recommending sorting of waste to isolate different materials, or simply to retain valuable items rather than discarding them.
In Germany, the first recycling system was brought into effect by Carl Beetz von Winthem (de) in 1899 at Lauingen; this was followed by the development of a second system for waste disposal at Schiltach, Germany. Recycling dates back hundreds of years and is carried out in most countries around the world today to recover valuable materials and reduce use of primary resources, as well as to reduce waste disposal fees and landfill space.
Today, recycling can be said to have evolved into a global industry, where in the United States alone an estimated thirty billion dollars are invested annually. Recycling is a common practice in developed countries due to its economic benefits and because it reduces pressure on "peak resources", including material resources such as landfills , natural resources , water sources and energy . Recycling is also found in other countries like Romania, Japan and Taiwan. Recycling has been a common practice throughout history due to its economic benefits–as long as it is done correctly. Recyclable materials include most forms of plastic, paper products (e.g., cardboard boxes), metal cans and glass jars/bottles, which are all diverted from landfill and collected by local governments. Recycling is the treatment of waste materials through a process and returning them to use in producing new products.
In europe, recycling is not to be confused with 'disposal'. Recycling involves the reprocessing of used products or waste materials with the intention of re-using them. Most recycling involves using a material recovery procedure, which recovers different components of garbage after each cycle Industrialized countries like the U.S., Japan and Germany have recycling rates over 50% while developing countries like China and India have rates of 20%. Recycling has been a common practice throughout history due to its economic benefits–as long as it is done correctly. Recyclable materials include most forms of plastic, paper products (e.g., cardboard boxes), metal cans and glass jars/bottles, which are all diverted from landfill and collected by local governments.
The recycling symbol Recycling has been a common practice for most of human history, with recorded advocates as far back as Plato in the fourth century BC.[citation needed] During periods when resources were scarce and hard to come by, archaeological studies of ancient waste dumps show less household waste (such as ash, broken tools, and pottery)—implying more waste was being recycled in the absence of new material.[7]
In pre-industrial times, there is evidence of scrap bronze and other metals being collected in Europe and melted down for continuous reuse. Recycling has been around since people started throwing away their unwanted things. Recycling started as early as ancient Greece and Rome, who recommended sorting of waste to isolate different materials. Recycling is the process where used goods are bought, broken down into their basic components and then made into new products. Recycling has been common practice over time due to its economic benefits–as long as it is done correctly.