Black Country Rubbish Challenge

History

The history of waste minimisation and recycling has its roots in 2000 BC. There is evidence that waste minimisation and recycling were common place before we became industrialised. Here is a potted history of waste minimisation. A more detailed chronological history can be seen by clicking this link: chronology

http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/

In early pre-industrial times everything that could be, was repaired and reused, populations were smaller, and people lived in less concentrated groups. However, the transition from nomadic hunter-gatherer to farmer meant that waste could no longer be left behind, and it soon became a growing problem.

Until the Industrial Revolution reuse and recycling was commonplace. Nearly 4000 years ago there was a recovery and reuse system of bronze scrap in operation in Europe and there is evidence that composting was carried out in China. Reuse and recycling has always existed in the form of salvage, an age-old tradition stretching forward to the Rag-and-Bone men. Traditionally, recovered materials have included leather, feathers and down, and textiles. Recycling included feeding vegetable wastes to livestock and using green waste as fertiliser. Pigs were often used as an efficient method of disposing of municipal waste. Timber was often salvaged and reused in construction and ship-building. Materials such as gold have always been melted down and re-cast numerous times. Later recovery activities included scrap metal, paper and non-ferrous metals.

Since the 1980's, household waste in the UK has risen from just under 400 Kg per person to over 500 Kg per person per year. Such an increase can be attributed to economic growth, social change, and waste collection methods. The increase in waste has closely mirrored that of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while the increase in single person households and wheeled bin household waste collections have made the problem worse.

Today in the UK it is estimated that each household throws away over a tonne of waste annually. In addition, for every tonne of products we buy, ten tonnes of resources are used to produce them. Around 70% of our household waste has the potential to be either recycled or composted. Despite the fact that the majority of the general public regard recycling as worthwhile and over 65% of households have access to kerbside collection recycling schemes; only 14.5% of dustbin contents are recycled or composted.

Chronology of Waste