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== History == === Origins === Reusing materials has been a common practice for most of human history with recorded advocates as far back as [[Plato]] in the fourth century BC.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Aspden |first=Peter |date=2022-12-09 |title=Recycling Beauty, Prada Foundation — what the Romans did for us and what we did to them |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/1c1251cf-5feb-430c-9062-37f6b91af5d4 |access-date=2023-05-18}}</ref> During periods when resources were scarce, archaeological studies of ancient waste dumps show less household waste (such as ash, broken tools, and pottery), implying that more waste was recycled in place of new material.<ref name="guide">{{Cite book |last = Black Dog Publishing |publisher = Black Dog Publishing |year = 2006 |location = London, UK |isbn = 978-1-904772-36-1 |title = Recycle : a source book |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/recycleessential0000unse }}</ref> However, [[archaeological artefact]]s made from recyclable material, such as glass or metal, may neither be the original object nor resemble it, with the consequence that a successful ancient recycling economy can become invisible when recycling is synonymous with re-melting rather than reuse.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/arcm.12756|title=Approaches to interrogate the erased histories of recycled archaeological objects|last1=Wood|first1=J.R.|journal=Archaeometry|year=2022|volume=64|pages=187–205|url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10142809/|access-date=13 July 2022|archive-date=20 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020191958/https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10142809/|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[File:Old Rags Into New Cloth- Salvage in Britain, April 1942 D7447.jpg|thumb|Inside a British factory, a textile worker rakes newly-made '[[shoddy]]' which was then combined with new wool to make new cloth]] In [[pre-industrial]] times, there is evidence of [[scrap]] bronze and other metals being collected in Europe and melted down for continuous reuse.<ref name="economisttruth" /> [[Paper recycling]] was first recorded in 1031 when Japanese shops sold repulped paper.<ref>{{Cite book |title = Handbook of Energy: Chronologies, Top Ten Lists, and Word Clouds |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ScL77rOCZn0C&q=1031+japan+paper+recycling |publisher = Elsevier |date = 15 November 2013 |isbn = 978-0-12-417019-3 |first1 = Cutler J. |last1 = Cleveland |first2 = Christopher G. |last2 = Morris |page = 461 |access-date = 19 November 2020 |archive-date = 20 February 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230220183214/https://books.google.com/books?id=ScL77rOCZn0C&q=1031+japan+paper+recycling |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title = Sustaining the earth: choosing consumer products that are safe for you, your family, and the earth |publisher = Hearst Books |date = 1 January 1994 |location = New York |isbn = 978-0-688-12335-2 |first = Debra |last = Dadd-Redalia |page = 103 |oclc = 29702410 }}</ref> In Britain dust and ash from wood and coal fires was collected by "[[Waste collector|dustmen]]" and [[downcycling|downcycled]] as a base material for brick making. These forms of recycling were driven by the economic advantage of obtaining recycled materials instead of virgin material, and the need for waste removal in ever-more-densely populated areas.<ref name="guide" /> In 1813, [[Benjamin Law (inventor)|Benjamin Law]] developed the process of turning rags into "[[shoddy]]" and "[[Glossary of textile manufacturing#M|mungo]]" wool in Batley, Yorkshire, which combined recycled fibers with virgin [[wool]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Know all about : reduce, reuse, recycle|last=Nongpluh, Yoofisaca Syngkon.|others=Noronha, Guy C.,, Energy and Resources Institute.|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4619-4003-6|location=New Delhi|oclc=858862026}}</ref> 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. In addition to rags, ferrous [[scrap]] metals were coveted as they were cheaper to acquire than virgin ore. Railroads 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 into industrial production.<ref name="cash">{{Cite book |last = Carl A. Zimring |publisher = Rutgers University Press |year = 2005 |location = New Brunswick, NJ |isbn = 978-0-8135-4694-0 |title = Cash for Your Trash: Scrap Recycling in America |url = https://archive.org/details/lccn_2005002576 |url-access = registration }}</ref> Manufacturers of beverage bottles, including [[Schweppes]],<ref>{{cite web|title=sd_shire|url=http://www.britishsoftdrinks.com/PDF/history.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014013216/http://www.britishsoftdrinks.com/PDF/history.pdf|archive-date=14 October 2012|access-date=27 October 2012|df=dmy}}</ref> began offering refundable recycling deposits in Great Britain and Ireland around 1800. An official recycling system with [[Container deposit legislation|refundable deposits]] for bottles was established in Sweden in 1884, and for aluminum beverage cans in 1982; it led to recycling rates of 84–99%, depending on type (glass bottles can be refilled around 20 times).<ref>[https://www.zerowasteeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Rethinking-economic-incentives2.pdf Rethinking economic incentives for separate collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219203932/https://www.zerowasteeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Rethinking-economic-incentives2.pdf |date=19 December 2019 }}. Zero Waste Europe & Reloop Platform, 2017</ref> === Wartime === [[File:Scrap^ Will Help Win. Don't Mix it - NARA - 533983.jpg|thumb|upright|American poster from [[World War II]]]] [[File:INF3-196 Salvage Still more paper, rags, bones wanted for salvage Artist Gilroy.jpg|thumb|upright|British poster from [[World War II]]]] [[File:Housewives!_Wage_War_on_Hitler_-_Save_-_DPLA_-_38319075b7298ab8ed2d9b792495f644.jpg|thumb|left|Poster from wartime [[Canada]], encouraging [[housewives]] to "salvage"]] [[File:YorkWhipMaFence2.jpg|thumb|upright|Remnants of iron fence bars in [[York]] [[Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate]]. Such public property fences were sawed for the iron and recycled during [[World War II]].]] New chemical industries created in the late 19th century both invented new materials (e.g. [[Bakelite]] in 1907) and promised to transform valueless into valuable materials. Proverbially, you could not [[wikt:make a silk purse of a sow's ear|make a silk purse of a sow's ear]]—until the US firm Arthur D. Little published in 1921 "On the Making of Silk Purses from Sows' Ears", its research proving that when "chemistry puts on overalls and gets down to business [...] new values appear. New and better paths are opened to reach the goals desired."<ref>{{cite web |url = https://libraries.mit.edu/archives/exhibits/purse/ |title = Report: "On the Making of Silk Purses from Sows' Ears," 1921: Exhibits: Institute Archives & Special Collections: MIT |website = mit.edu |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160603063316/http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/exhibits/purse/ |archive-date = 3 June 2016 |url-status = dead }}</ref> Recycling—or "salvage", as it was then usually known—was a major issue for governments during [[World War II]], where financial constraints and significant material shortages made it necessary to reuse goods and recycle materials.<ref name=PBS>{{cite web |work = Public Broadcasting System |date=2007 |title = The War Episode 2: Rationing and Recycling |url = https://www.pbs.org/ |access-date = 7 July 2016 |archive-date = 23 February 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110223211759/http://www.pbs.org/ |url-status = live }}</ref> These resource shortages caused by the [[world war]]s, and other such world-changing events, greatly encouraged recycling.<ref>{{Cite periodical | title= Out of the Garbage-Pail into the Fire: fuel bricks now added to the list of things salvaged by science from the nation's waste | magazine= [[Popular Science]] monthly | date= February 1919 | pages= 50–51|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7igDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA50 |publisher=Bonnier Corporation|language=en|archive-date=20 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220183150/https://books.google.com/books?id=7igDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA50|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=PBS /> It became necessary for most homes to recycle their waste, allowing people to make the most of what was available. Recycling household materials also meant more resources were left available for war efforts.<ref name=PBS /> Massive government campaigns, such as the [[Paper Salvage 1939–50|National Salvage Campaign]] in Britain and the [[Salvage for Victory]] campaign in the United States, occurred in every fighting nation, urging citizens to donate metal, paper, rags, and rubber as a patriotic duty. === Post-World War II === A considerable investment in recycling occurred in the 1970s due to rising energy costs.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.plasticexpert.co.uk/recycling-ages-1970s/ |title = Recycling through the ages: 1970s |date = 30 July 2014 |access-date = 7 March 2015 |website = Plastic Expert |archive-date = 16 May 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190516130847/https://www.plasticexpert.co.uk/recycling-ages-1970s/ |url-status = live }}</ref> Recycling aluminium uses only 5% of the energy of virgin production. Glass, paper and other metals have less dramatic but significant energy savings when recycled.<ref name="economistrecycle" /> Although consumer electronics have been popular since the 1920s, recycling them was almost unheard of until early 1991.<ref>{{cite web |title = CRC History |work= Computer Recycling Center |url = http://www.crc.org/about/crc_history.php |access-date = 29 July 2015 |archive-date = 31 March 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190331104014/http://www.crc.org/about/crc_history.php |url-status = live }}</ref> The first [[electronic waste recycling]] scheme was implemented in [[Switzerland]], beginning with collection of old refrigerators, then expanding to cover all devices.<ref>{{cite web |title = About us |work=Swico Recycling |url = http://www.swicorecycling.ch/en/about-us/ |access-date = 29 July 2015 |archive-date = 31 March 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190331092626/http://www.swicorecycling.ch/en/about-us/ |url-status = live }}</ref> When these programs were created, many countries could not deal with the sheer quantity of [[e-waste]], or its hazardous nature, and began to export the problem to developing countries without enforced environmental legislation. (For example, recycling computer monitors in the United States costs 10 times more than in China.) Demand for electronic waste in Asia began to grow when scrapyards found they could extract valuable substances such as [[copper]], [[silver]], [[iron]], [[silicon]], [[nickel]], and [[gold]] during the recycling process.<ref>{{cite web |title = Where does e-waste end up? |url = http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/detox/electronics/the-e-waste-problem/where-does-e-waste-end-up/ |access-date = 29 July 2015 |work = Greenpeace |date = 24 February 2009 |archive-date = 22 January 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180122173520/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/detox/electronics/the-e-waste-problem/where-does-e-waste-end-up/ |url-status = live }}</ref> The 2000s saw a boom in both the sales of electronic devices and their growth as a waste stream: In 2002, e-waste grew faster than any other type of waste in the EU.<ref name="Kinver">{{Cite news |title = Mechanics of e-waste recycling |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6254816.stm |date = 3 July 2007 |access-date = 29 July 2015 |last = Kinver |first = Mark |publisher = BBC |archive-date = 3 May 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090503181714/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6254816.stm |url-status = live }}</ref> This spurred investment in modern automated facilities to cope with the influx, especially after strict laws were implemented in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |title = Bulgaria opens largest WEEE recycling factory in Eastern Europe |url = http://www.ask-eu.com/Default.asp?Menue=142&Bereich=5&SubBereich=16&KW=130&NewsPPV=8492 |website = www.ask-eu.com |access-date = 29 July 2015 |date = 12 July 2010 |publisher = WtERT Germany GmbH |archive-date = 14 September 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110914095226/http://www.ask-eu.com/Default.asp?Menue=142 |url-status = live }}{{pb}}{{cite web |title = EnvironCom opens largest WEEE recycling facility |url = http://www.greenwisebusiness.co.uk/news/environcom-opens-largest-weee-recycling-facility-in-uk-1195.aspx |website = www.greenwisebusiness.co.uk |date = 4 March 2010 |publisher = The Sixty Mile Publishing Company |url-status = dead |archive-url = http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160515070836/http%3A//www.greenwisebusiness.co.uk/news/environcom%2Dopens%2Dlargest%2Dweee%2Drecycling%2Dfacility%2Din%2Duk%2D1195.aspx |archive-date = 15 May 2016 }}{{pb}}{{Cite news |title = Where Gadgets Go To Die: E-Waste Recycler Opens New Plant in Las Vegas |url = https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/11/e-waste-recycling-las-vegas-us-micro-electronics_n_1200527.html |journal = Huffington Post |access-date = 29 July 2015 |last = Goodman |first = Peter S. |date = 11 January 2012 |archive-date = 8 January 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170108030900/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/11/e-waste-recycling-las-vegas-us-micro-electronics_n_1200527.html |url-status = live }}{{unreliable source?|date=September 2023}}{{pb}}{{cite web |title = New plant tackles our electronic leftovers|url = https://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/biztech/new-plant-tackles-our-electronic-leftovers/2008/11/19/1226770518649.html |website = Sydney Morning Herald| url-access=subscription |access-date = 29 July 2015 |date = 19 November 2008 |last = Moses |first = Asher |archive-date = 26 August 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170826203500/http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/biztech/new-plant-tackles-our-electronic-leftovers/2008/11/19/1226770518649.html |url-status = live }}</ref> As of 2014, the [[European Union]] had about 50% of world share of waste and recycling industries, with over {{formatnum:60000}} companies employing {{formatnum:500000}} people and a turnover of €24 billion.<ref>European Commission, [http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/lead-market-initiative/recycling/index_en.htm Recycling] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203063401/http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/lead-market-initiative/recycling/index_en.htm |date=3 February 2014 }}.</ref> EU countries are mandated to reach recycling rates of at least 50%; leading countries are already at around 65%. The overall EU average was 39% in 2013<ref>{{Cite web|title=Recycling rates in Europe |work=European Environment Agency|url=https://www.eea.europa.eu/about-us/what/public-events/competitions/waste-smart-competition/recycling-rates-in-europe/view|access-date=2023-02-08|language=en|archive-date=8 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208010147/https://www.eea.europa.eu/about-us/what/public-events/competitions/waste-smart-competition/recycling-rates-in-europe/view|url-status=live}}</ref> and is rising steadily, to 45% in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Recycling of municipal waste | work= European Environment Agency|url=https://www.eea.europa.eu/airs/2017/resource-efficiency-and-low-carbon-economy/recycling-of-municipal-waste|access-date=2023-02-08|language=en|archive-date=7 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907225746/https://www.eea.europa.eu/airs/2017/resource-efficiency-and-low-carbon-economy/recycling-of-municipal-waste|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Paben|first=Jared|date=2017-02-07|title=Germany's recycling rate continues to lead Europe|url=https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2017/02/07/germanys-recycling-rate-continues-lead-europe/|access-date=2023-02-08|website=Resource Recycling News|language=en-US|archive-date=8 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208010142/https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2017/02/07/germanys-recycling-rate-continues-lead-europe/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly set 17 [[Sustainable Development Goals]]. Goal 12, [[Sustainable Development Goal 12|Responsible Consumption and Production]], specifies 11 targets "to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns".<ref>United Nations (2017) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, [[:File:A RES 71 313 E.pdf|Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development]] ([https://undocs.org/A/RES/71/313 A/RES/71/313])</ref> The fifth target, [[Sustainable Development Goal 12#Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation|Target 12.5]], is defined as substantially reducing waste generation by 2030, indicated by the National Recycling Rate. In 2018, changes in the recycling industry have sparked a global "crisis". On 31 December 2017, China announced its "[[Operation National Sword|National Sword]]" policy, setting new standards for imports of recyclable material and banning materials deemed too "dirty" or "hazardous". The new policy caused drastic disruptions in the global recycling market, and reduced the prices of scrap plastic and low-grade paper. Exports of recyclable materials from [[G7]] countries to China dropped dramatically, with many shifting to countries in southeast Asia. This generated significant concern about the recycling industry's practices and [[environmental sustainability]]. The abrupt shift caused countries to accept more materials than they could process, and raised fundamental questions about shipping waste from developed countries to countries with few environmental regulations—a practice that predated the crisis.<ref>{{Cite news |title = Why the world's recycling system stopped working |url = https://www.ft.com/content/360e2524-d71a-11e8-a854-33d6f82e62f8 |journal = [[Financial Times]] |access-date = 25 October 2018 |last1 = Hook |first1 = Leslie |last2 = Reed |first2 = John |date = 24 October 2018 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20181025073925/https://www.ft.com/content/360e2524-d71a-11e8-a854-33d6f82e62f8 |archive-date = 25 October 2018 |url-status = live | url-access = subscription }}</ref>
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