A Brief History of Recycling in Australia

Recycling isn't in any way a new idea. The process of recycling and repurposing raw materials has been in use for thousands of years. The process of recycling materials has seen a significant increase in prominence mostly due to the fact that more people are environmentally aware and are willing to take the steps to help protect the earth's natural resources. Recycling in Australia has seen a major increase in the last 10-years or so, and is now play an important role in modern society. Households are now more aware of the recycling such basic materials as are aluminium, juice cartons, steel, glass, cardboard, paper, HDPE milk containers, and plastic.

Here is an overview of the significant periods in Australia's recycling industry:

1815: In 1815 Australia saw the construction of the first paper mill which was involved in recycling materials, and related to repurposing rags into making paper.

1915: The earliest recording of industrial steel recycling dates back to 1915, which was undertaken by BHP Steel. Also, charities have relied on recycled clothing and household goods for going on a century now.

1920s: In the early 1920s, the first waste paper collections started in the region of Melbourne and collected from factories and households. Early vehicle production also relied on recycling the valuable metals from older model cars in order to save on resources and costs.

1940s: It wasn't until the 1940s that the first of the cart and horse recycling collections began in various regions across Australia, which involved collecting old newspapers for the purposing as paper or packaging material.

1970s: The initial campaign to help with recycling aluminium cans was first presented to the general public.

1980s: It wasn't until the late 1980s that the first of the kerbside recycling initiatives was launched in Sydney. Recycling now plays a significant role across the entire country, with an estimated 90% of homes being actively involved in this practice in urban areas.

1992: It was in 1992 that drinks bottles started to be manufactured in such materials as recycled plastic resin, and made available from such companies as Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

   

Recycling is able to save a significant amount of energy. In most cases, you are likely to see a 50% reduction in the amount of energy and a 10% reduction in the amount of water necessary for creating paper from the fresh or raw materials. Also, the recycling process is likely to result in significantly less pollution, often rated at 25% of the alternative of using raw materials.