HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHEN RECYCLING STARTED?

Who Invented Recycling?

Recycling has naturally emerged as a common process throughout human history – no person can be associated with its creation.

When was recycling invented?

Recycling dates back to ancient times. While the first recorded example of paper recycling was found in 1031 in Japan, ancient cultures used to reuse everyday objects long before that – mainly due to lack of resources and lengthy production processes.

Chronology of recycling

Japan – 1031 – The first registered case of recycling

During the fall of the Japanese imperial court in the Heian period, paper production split from state control as workers gradually merged into a common society (then a form of workers’ union). As a result, private property owners set up paper mills and hired workers to continue making paper – it was then that the process of reusing waste paper (recycling) became common. The aim was to preserve materials and maximize production. Big congratulations to the Japanese!

Philadelphia – 1690 – The Rittenhouse Factory

America’s first paper mill was built by German-born William Rittenhausen. The factory used old fabrics, textiles, cotton, and linen to make recycled printing paper. The paper mill operated until the mid-1800s and was the Rittenhouse family industry for more than a century.

New York – 1776 – First metal recycling

The American War of Independence led to the first case of metal recycling in an attempt to help the war. Namely, in New York, the statue of King George III was demolished, melted down and turned into bullets immediately after the reading of the newly prepared “Declaration of Independence”. 42,088 bullets were made from the statue.

1896 The Coca-Cola Company promotes the first reusable bottle

Chicago – 1904 – The first American can recycling plants

In the United States, large-scale aluminum production began in 1886 with the creation of the Hall-Héroult process. This quickly led to the first aluminum cans recycling plants, the first of which operated in Chicago, Illinois in 1904.

United States of America – 1970 – Mobius Loop Recycling Logo

Today’s well-known recycling logo was born in 1970 when Container Corporation of America held a competition to find a new symbol for recycled paper. Gary Anderson, a 23-year-old engineering student, applied with a simple logo based on arrows spinning around each other. He won, earning $2,000, and the iconic logo has been ingrained in the public consciousness ever since.

Pennsylvania 1972 – The first plastic recycling plant

The first plastic waste recycling plant was established in Conchoken, Pennsylvania in 1972, paving the way for all future recycling plants. Over time, government programs and environmental activists began to educate people about recycling habits and encouraged manufacturers to produce plastics that were easier to recycle. These efforts led to the adoption of HDPE and PETE plastics in the 1980s, which were designed for easy further recycling.

Barnsley, South Yorkshire – 1977 – The first bottle bank in the United Kingdom

On June 6, 1977, Stanley Rey threw the first empty jar into the country’s first glass recycling bank. This started the national trend of bottle banks, where citizens can carry empty bottles and jars for recycling. Glass is a material that is endlessly recyclable, and the introduction of bottle banks is a key moment that has made glass recycling easy for everyone.

Canada – 1983 – Blue Box Recycling System

In the city of Kitchener, Ontario, a Blue Box recycling system was introduced as a way to efficiently sort and collect household waste. The blue box system facilitated the recycling of plastic, paper, glass, aluminum, steel and other materials. The system has been adopted and modified around the world, and it remains in use to this day.

1991 The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola Hellenic introduce, for the first time, recycled materials for the production of plastic bottles

The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola Hellenic pioneer the use of mixed-use recycled plastic bottles, giving used plastic a new lease of life.

1995 America reaches the recycling record

Americans recycle a record 47.6 billion soft drink cans, an increase of 500 million over the previous year. Aluminum cans were recycled at a rate of 63% the same year.

2000: EPA confirms that recycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions

A critical point in the history of recycling comes in 2000, when the Environmental Protection Agency reaffirmed the link between waste and global warming. They say that the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (to slow down climate change) would be to recycle.

2018 The Coca – Cola Company and Coca-Cola Hellenic launch the World Without Waste campaign

The companies have announced their commitment to collect and recycle the equivalent of 100 percent of their marketable packaging and use bottles that will contain at least 50 percent recycled plastic by 2030.

What is the evolution in our country?

In 2011, the first law on packaging waste recycling was introduced. The law obliges all manufacturers and importers that are placed on the Macedonian market, to organize a system for collection of packaging waste generated from their products, sorting by type and its recycling. The first license was obtained by the company “Pakomak.” Today, the awareness for recycling is growing day by day, and this is shown by the growing interest of citizens for recycling through vending machines and sorting containers. The more we recycle the faster we will reach the goal. Zero waste everywhere!