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Resources
History of Waste Management: Part 1
Waste Not, Want Not
The importance of recycling and compost cannot be viewed as a stand-alone topic without
recognising its place in the larger scheme of things – waste management. I know it may seem
like an odd place to start. But when you consider our humble beginnings and review where we
are today, it becomes imperative that we learn from the past.
Our life as cave dwellers, hunter-gatherers or roaming nomads in the early days was relatively
simple. Finished your chicken dinner? Just dump those carcasses and bones out the door.
Broken pottery and tools? You know where the entrance of the cave is! Just heave what you were
finished with out the door; no questions asked.
You could say our ancestors were pioneers of the “throw-away” society. But then again, things
were pretty manageable back then. We simply moved on or ploughed any decomposing muck
back into our vegetable patches. Land was plentiful and the thought of waste management was
unheard of.
However, being sociable creatures we soon banded together in communities, which grew and
grew. Towns and cities flourished. We were soon packed into increasingly cramped quarters;
living, working and creating waste as a collective group. And that’s when things started to get
complicated…
And We All Fall Down
Perhaps you’ve heard this children’s nursery rhyme, even recited it once:
Ring a-round the rosy
Pocket full of posies
Ashes, ashes!
We all fall down!
Would it shock you to know that this innocent-sounding rhyme originated in medieval times, as
far back as the 14th century in fact, to ward off the then inexplicable outbreak that was ravaging
Europe? Otherwise also known as the Black Death? That “ring-a-round the rosy” refers to rosary
beads, that pockets were stuffed with posies to overcome the smell of rotting flesh while “ashes”
refer to the burning of corpses? Shudder.
At the height of this devastating plague, between 1347 to 1352, two-thirds of Europe’s population
perished. Researchers and historians have determined that the deadly yersinia pestis bacterium
was transmitted to humans and animals by Oriental Rat Fleas. While there is no doubt now that
an explosion in the infected rat population began it all, it was the squalor in which the people lived
that perpetuated such a cycle of devastation.
Medieval Europe was a filthy, filthy place. But so was every other civilisation of the time – including
Asia. It was here that the Black Death had begun its destructive march. It started from the plains
of the Gobi desert till it eventually found its way to other parts of Asia and Europe via established
trade routes. Between the 13th to 17th century, it claimed an estimated 200 million victims.
The rapid spread of the plague was inevitable, considering that many of these medieval
civilisations had very little concept of public health or waste management. Rubbish was thrown
willy-nilly out into the streets, down congested gutters or burnt openly. Groupings of traders in
towns and cities perpetuated health hazards, with mass amounts of waste and refuse
accumulating in certain quarters of the towns and cities. For example, in the London of that time,
butchers were sited in what was then known as Stinking Lane. You can imagine the condition of
that locality to warrant such a distinctive name. Imagine the rodents that thrived and multiplied
happily under such hospitable conditions; and on their backs, the Oriental Rat Fleas!
Misplaced Wisdom
It wasn’t that entire civilisations of those times were completely ignorant of the nuisance of
mounting rubbish. Unfortunately, that was also where the seed of the problem lay. From as far
back as ancient times, growing mounds of rubbish were an acknowledged nuisance, but seen
as little more.
There is evidence of early attempts at regulating waste disposal. For example, municipal landfills
were in use as early as 3000 BC in Crete and 500 BC in Athens. In places like China, separating
waste was practised to enable recycling of vegetable waste as feed for livestock and incorporated
with manure as fertiliser.
In early England, authorities took a stab at implementing laws to regulate waste disposal.
Traders who brought produce into a city were required to carry solid waste back out of that city
and dispose of them in the countryside. House owners were encouraged to keep the front of their
homes clear and to eradicate pigsties conveniently plonked on their doorsteps. In 1408, King
Henry IV of England decreed that household rubbish were to be kept indoors until rakers came to
collect them in carts. These were taken to the countryside and buried or loaded onto ships to be
taken away.
All these practices indicate that authorities were aware of the problem of growing waste.
Nevertheless, the principles of waste management – that is, waste collection, segregation,
disposal and recycling – had not germinated yet. The realisation that unsanitary waste disposal
methods would lead to disease and death was way, way into the future.
As we shall see later on, it would take another 400 years or so for developed nations like Great
Britain and the United States to acknowledge the link, get their acts together and devise a more
cohesive strategy. In the shorter term, it appeared that collective amnesia was the order of the
day. The bubonic plague that had struck most of Europe and Asia in the 14th century was never
entirely eradicated; simmering beneath the surface with sporadic outbreaks here and there. A
noteworthy recurrence was the Great Plague of 1665, during which 15 percent of London’s
population perished and King Charles II’s court was forced to relocate to Oxford.
Even in modern times, bubonic plagues have never fully gone away; merely controlled. In the
United States, the last-recorded rat-borne plague occurred in California in 1924. Today, the World
Health Organisation continues to record approximately 3,000 cases a year.
Waste Not, Want Not
The importance of recycling and compost cannot be viewed as a stand-alone topic without
recognising its place in the larger scheme of things – waste management. I know it may seem
like an odd place to start. But when you consider our humble beginnings and review where we
are today, it becomes imperative that we learn from the past.
Our life as cave dwellers, hunter-gatherers or roaming nomads in the early days was relatively
simple. Finished your chicken dinner? Just dump those carcasses and bones out the door.
Broken pottery and tools? You know where the entrance of the cave is! Just heave what you were
finished with out the door; no questions asked.
You could say our ancestors were pioneers of the “throw-away” society. But then again, things
were pretty manageable back then. We simply moved on or ploughed any decomposing muck
back into our vegetable patches. Land was plentiful and the thought of waste management was
unheard of.
However, being sociable creatures we soon banded together in communities, which grew and
grew. Towns and cities flourished. We were soon packed into increasingly cramped quarters;
living, working and creating waste as a collective group. And that’s when things started to get
complicated…
And We All Fall Down
Perhaps you’ve heard this children’s nursery rhyme, even recited it once:
Ring a-round the rosy
Pocket full of posies
Ashes, ashes!
We all fall down!
Would it shock you to know that this innocent-sounding rhyme originated in medieval times, as
far back as the 14th century in fact, to ward off the then inexplicable outbreak that was ravaging
Europe? Otherwise also known as the Black Death? That “ring-a-round the rosy” refers to rosary
beads, that pockets were stuffed with posies to overcome the smell of rotting flesh while “ashes”
refer to the burning of corpses? Shudder.
At the height of this devastating plague, between 1347 to 1352, two-thirds of Europe’s population
perished. Researchers and historians have determined that the deadly yersinia pestis bacterium
was transmitted to humans and animals by Oriental Rat Fleas. While there is no doubt now that
an explosion in the infected rat population began it all, it was the squalor in which the people lived
that perpetuated such a cycle of devastation.
Medieval Europe was a filthy, filthy place. But so was every other civilisation of the time – including
Asia. It was here that the Black Death had begun its destructive march. It started from the plains
of the Gobi desert till it eventually found its way to other parts of Asia and Europe via established
trade routes. Between the 13th to 17th century, it claimed an estimated 200 million victims.
The rapid spread of the plague was inevitable, considering that many of these medieval
civilisations had very little concept of public health or waste management. Rubbish was thrown
willy-nilly out into the streets, down congested gutters or burnt openly. Groupings of traders in
towns and cities perpetuated health hazards, with mass amounts of waste and refuse
accumulating in certain quarters of the towns and cities. For example, in the London of that time,
butchers were sited in what was then known as Stinking Lane. You can imagine the condition of
that locality to warrant such a distinctive name. Imagine the rodents that thrived and multiplied
happily under such hospitable conditions; and on their backs, the Oriental Rat Fleas!
Misplaced Wisdom
It wasn’t that entire civilisations of those times were completely ignorant of the nuisance of
mounting rubbish. Unfortunately, that was also where the seed of the problem lay. From as far
back as ancient times, growing mounds of rubbish were an acknowledged nuisance, but seen
as little more.
There is evidence of early attempts at regulating waste disposal. For example, municipal landfills
were in use as early as 3000 BC in Crete and 500 BC in Athens. In places like China, separating
waste was practised to enable recycling of vegetable waste as feed for livestock and incorporated
with manure as fertiliser.
In early England, authorities took a stab at implementing laws to regulate waste disposal.
Traders who brought produce into a city were required to carry solid waste back out of that city
and dispose of them in the countryside. House owners were encouraged to keep the front of their
homes clear and to eradicate pigsties conveniently plonked on their doorsteps. In 1408, King
Henry IV of England decreed that household rubbish were to be kept indoors until rakers came to
collect them in carts. These were taken to the countryside and buried or loaded onto ships to be
taken away.
All these practices indicate that authorities were aware of the problem of growing waste.
Nevertheless, the principles of waste management – that is, waste collection, segregation,
disposal and recycling – had not germinated yet. The realisation that unsanitary waste disposal
methods would lead to disease and death was way, way into the future.
As we shall see later on, it would take another 400 years or so for developed nations like Great
Britain and the United States to acknowledge the link, get their acts together and devise a more
cohesive strategy. In the shorter term, it appeared that collective amnesia was the order of the
day. The bubonic plague that had struck most of Europe and Asia in the 14th century was never
entirely eradicated; simmering beneath the surface with sporadic outbreaks here and there. A
noteworthy recurrence was the Great Plague of 1665, during which 15 percent of London’s
population perished and King Charles II’s court was forced to relocate to Oxford.
Even in modern times, bubonic plagues have never fully gone away; merely controlled. In the
United States, the last-recorded rat-borne plague occurred in California in 1924. Today, the World
Health Organisation continues to record approximately 3,000 cases a year.
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ARTICLES
Part 1: Waste Not, Want Not
The origin of early waste
management practices
Part 2: Fighting A Losing Battle?
Increasing consumption leads to a
growing waste management problem
Recycling Organic Waste
Commercialisation of recycling
efforts as part of waste management
efforts (US & UK experience)
Recycling Organic Waste
The Malaysian experience
Origins Of Modern Organic Farming
Discovery of the benefits of
composting
Back to Nature: Economic And
Environmental Concerns
Why the renaissance and interest in
composting?
Coming Soon
In Brief: The Composting Process
Composting Controls
Composting Systems
Part 1: Waste Not, Want Not
The origin of early waste
management practices
Part 2: Fighting A Losing Battle?
Increasing consumption leads to a
growing waste management problem
Recycling Organic Waste
Commercialisation of recycling
efforts as part of waste management
efforts (US & UK experience)
Recycling Organic Waste
The Malaysian experience
Origins Of Modern Organic Farming
Discovery of the benefits of
composting
Back to Nature: Economic And
Environmental Concerns
Why the renaissance and interest in
composting?
Coming Soon
In Brief: The Composting Process
Composting Controls
Composting Systems