A Brief History of Recycling
November 19, 2019
November 19, 2019
This guest blog is courtesy of American Disposal Services.
For those of you who think recycling is something that just came about within the last few decades, think again!
Ancient Recycling
The first recorded use of recycled paper was in 9th century Japan . Ancient Japanese people began recycling paper almost as soon as they learned how to produce it and recycling became part of paper production and consumption. Japanese culture generally treats recycled paper as being more precious than new and the recycled paper was often used in paintings and poetry. In the 12 century, a case was recorded of an emperor’s wife: after the emperor died, she recycled all the poems and letters she received from him and wrote a sutra on the recycled paper to wish peace upon his soul.
US Recycling Start
Finally, in 1690, recycling reaches the New World. The Rittenhouse Mill in Philadelphia opens and begins recycling linen and cotton rags. The paper produced from these materials was sold to printers for use in Bibles and newspapers.
World War II
World War II sees massive, universal collection campaigns for tin, rubber, steel, paper and more. More than 400,000 volunteer in the effort and tens of thousands of tons of material are recycled in order to save money for the war efforts. This was a national campaign. Posters and newsreels detailing the materials needed (and why) are abounding. All Americans were on board, and most were excited to help aid the troops by conserving and recycling.
1960s
The first curbside collections of yard waste, metals, and paper start popping up around the county. Separate waste streams collected at the curb become common place.
1970s
- Greater emphasis on green movements through government backed initiatives generates public awareness of conservation efforts.
- Concept of the flower child emerges. Earth Day is celebrated for the first time on April 22, 1970.
- The ‘chasing arrows’ recycling symbol is created by a Southern California architecture student who was trying to win a contest. He has been quoted to say that he never could have imagined the logo he designed would be so widely recognized.
- The first curbside-recycling bin “The Tree Saver” is used in Missouri for the collection of paper in 1974.
- In 1976, Massachusetts secures the first ever EPA recycling grants. With the grant money, they implement weekly multi-material curbside collection programs in two cities and use the first ever residential recycling truck. It costs $20,000.
- By the end of the decade approximately 220 curbside collection programs are under way in the US, about which 60 are multi-material collection.
1980s
- In 1987, The Mobro 4000 (nicknamed “The Garbage Barge”) spends months on the ocean, searching for a location to dispose of its garbage cargo. This saga was widely covered in the media and has been credited with awakening Americans in regard to solid waste and the importance of recycling.
- In that same year, New Jersey enacts the nation’s first universal mandatory recycling law, which requires all residents to separate recyclables from their trash.
- By 1985 America is at 10% nationwide recycling participation.
1990s
- The first ever-statewide ban on landfilling recyclable materials goes into effect, in Wisconsin in 1993. The ban initially prohibits yard wastes in landfills. Later, in 1995, other items (such as tires, aluminum containers, corrugated paper, foam polystyrene, plastic containers and newspapers) are banned as well.
- By 1995 America is at 20% nationwide recycling participation; double what it had been 10 years ago in 1985 and only 3 years later, in 1998, it tops 30%.
2000-Today
- In the early 2000s, organic waste collection at the curb begins on the West Coast (San Francisco).
- Currently, goal setting for ambitious West Coast cities reaches up to 80% recycling participation in some areas.
- In 2011, lawmakers in California adopt a goal to get the state’s recycling rate to 75% by 2020.
- In 2012, McDonalds finally replace their Styrofoam cups with paper ones.
- In 2011, the state of California had set the goal for 75% by 2020. Only one year later, in 2012, San Francisco announces it has achieved an 80% diversion rate for it’s waste….This puts San Francisco 8 years ahead of schedule on that goal, and with 5% MORE waste diverted!
Although this is a condensed list, you can see how far the recycling process has come and it is only becoming MORE accessible and widespread as time goes on! Imagine where we could be in 10 years if we all just Think Before We Throw!
Disclaimer: Guest blogs represent the opinion of the writers and may not reflect the policy or position of the Northeast Recycling Council, Inc.
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Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) Publishes 25 th Report Marking Six Years of Quarterly Data
The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) has opened the 2025 Emerging Professionals (EP) Program . Now, in its third year, the program provides professionals who are new to the field of recycling, sustainability, and environmental stewardship with discounted access to NERC’s Conference and Foundations Course, sponsored by their employer organization. EPs gain valuable connections with seasoned industry professionals and peers while engaging in discussions on current trends, challenges, and innovations shaping the industry. This program is designed for those with three or fewer years of experience. “This year, EPs also receive a discount to our Foundations of Sustainable Materials Management course (a live, instructor-led training) developed to provide the key building blocks for understanding the industry,” said Mariane Medeiros, Senior Project Manager at NERC. “It’s a great way to close the loop: gaining both a strong technical foundation and real-world connections in one experience.” Read and Learn More.
Recycling coordinators know that some people and locations are stubbornly indifferent to recycling. COVID has ruptured civic values and behavior. Creating a recycling culture is harder than ever. Producers know how to sell their products. Now they need to learn how to sell recycling. On July 1, Oregon’s packaging and paper extended producer responsibility (EPR) program begins operating. This will be a first in our country. “Producers”, instead of local governments or private citizens, will be paying to recycle packages and paper products. Colorado’s program begins operating early in 2026. For years we have heard the theory of how packaging EPR will work. At last, we will get results. Five other states also have laws. Their programs should all be operating by 2030. None of the state laws have identical requirements. The Circular Action Alliance, the “producer responsibility organization” responsible for managing the program in most of those states, knows it has a lot on its plate. EPR laws are not new to the U.S. Thirty-two states already have laws that cover a wide variety of products such as electronics, paint, mattresses, batteries, etc. Those laws are relatively simple. Most cover one product. The producer group is a small number of companies. Goals and programs are focused and narrow. They are a mixed bag of success and failure. Packaging EPR is far more complex. The number of covered products is way higher. Thousands of companies are paying for these programs. Goals are challenging. Some are impossible to meet. In addition, local governments treat recycling as a normal service. Their residents will still call them if their recyclables aren’t picked up. It probably hasn’t helped that advocates tout EPR as the solution for recycling’s problems. We are told we will have more collection and better processing with higher recycling rates. Markets will improve and even stabilize. Some of this will happen, but not all. Collection and processing should go smoothly in Oregon. The state has high expectations for recycling. I have no doubt recycling will increase. Collection programs will blanket the state, giving more households the opportunity to recycle. I’m not sure, though, how much of an increase we will see. Recycling coordinators know that some people and locations are stubbornly indifferent to recycling. COVID has ruptured civic values and behavior. Creating a recycling culture is harder than ever. Producers know how to sell their products. Now they need to learn how to sell recycling. Another challenge is the “responsible end market” requirements. You’ve probably seen pictures of overseas dumps created by unscrupulous or just naïve plastics “recyclers”. In response, Oregon and the other states are requiring sellers and end markets to prove they are “responsible”. They must provide information about who and where they are, how they operate, how much was actually recycled, and more. Recycling end markets pushed back. Paper and metals recyclers argue they shouldn’t be covered. They don’t cause those problems. As for plastics, the general manager of one of America’s largest plastics recycling companies said his company now spends time and money gathering data and filling out forms to prove they’re “responsible”. His virgin resin competitors don’t have to. Ironically, we now import more plastics for recycling than we export. Maybe those countries should impose similar requirements on their plastics recyclers. Colorado faces unique problems. The mountain state is large. Its population is concentrated on the I-25 corridor running north and south through Denver with low population density elsewhere. Recycling collection and processing is limited as are end markets. To make matters worse, slightly more than half of its households use “subscription” services for waste and recycling collection. Those services are funded by the households, not by taxpayers. EPR doesn’t have this experience in other countries. Colorado gets to blaze this trail. The second state to go live poses substantive challenges for producers. The good news for both states? Local governments that pay for recycling collection and processing will see most of those costs go away. Consumers are unlikely to see prices rise, for now. National companies will simply spread their costs among all 50 states. Local and regional producers, unfortunately, don’t have that advantage. As for improved markets, remember that recyclables are and always will be commodities subject to the ups and downs of the economy. I don’t see substantive changes in recycling markets unless the producer group’s members try to manipulate markets to their own advantage. 2025 saw new laws and changes to existing laws. Maryland and Washington became the sixth and seventh packaging EPR states. At the same time, California is rewriting its regulations and Maine significantly revised its law. Some of these changes narrowed EPR’s scope to the dismay of advocates. I’m a member of Maryland’s EPR Advisory Council. We’ve been meeting for a year, discussing the Needs Assessment and now our new law. We have our own unique set of challenges. We also have a big advantage. We can learn from Oregon’s and Colorado’s experiences. Tune in next year to learn how we are progressing. Read on Waste360.
