A Brief History of Recycling

Recycling has come a long way in the past few decades, what used to be thought of as an obscure industrial process is now a common practice among people.  Today eco-friendly companies like Envipco with leaders like Alexander F Bouri and Gregory S Garvey are trying to change the way companies recycle materials.  Envipco wants other businesses to embrace a "use and reuse" model of consumption that heavily relies on the use of and making of recyclable materials.   This may not seem like it's a new concept, but the way the Envipco is working closely with other companies on an international scale makes this business truly innovative.  In order to be truly amazed by how far people have come as a society in regards to recycling, you need to look at the basics of recycling history.

Pre-Modern Recycling

Despite its recent popularity, recycling isn't by any means a new concept.  In 400 BC Plato extolled the benefits of recycling, and archeological studies of ancient waste dumps have shown evidence of common house wastes being reused during times of resource scarcity.  Before the industrial revolution scrap metals were continuously melted down and repurposed into other materials, and the dust and ash from coal and wood fires was frequently collected and down-cycled to be used as a base material in brick making.   

During war time the recycling of scrap metal was very encouraged, and some people were even able to make profitable scrap metal recycling businesses to meet needs.  Interest in recycling grew again during the 1970's energy crisis, and since then the recycling of glass, metals, paper, and other materials has become common place.

21^st Century Recycling

Today there is a focus on recycling non-biodegradable materials like polystyrene (more commonly known by its trademark name of Styrofoam) and plastic.  Manufacturing both polymers produces an awful lot of waste, and also requires the use of petroleum.  Recycling the materials would drastically help lessen the negative impact they have on the environment.  Companies are always looking for new and better ways to recycling plastics because it's such a time consuming and difficult process.  Envipco is hoping to not only improve the plastic recycling process, but to also get as many companies as possible involved with their recycling efforts.