Waste Management

The systems and industries that handle how humans generate, collect, process, and dispose of waste. A $2T global industry growing 5.5% YoY as of 2021.

Brief history (per @amymcmai’s thread): The first documented landfill was in 3000 BC (Knossos, Crete). China developed composting and bronze recycling around 2000 BC. Athens passed a law around 500 BC requiring garbage disposal at least one mile outside the city. The Black Plague in 1350 created the first professional garbage workers in Great Britain (“rakers”). Ben Franklin started the first US street cleaning service (~1757). Dumping waste in the ocean was common until the Supreme Court banned it in 1934. Post-WWII consumerism increased packaging waste by ~70%. The US Solid Waste Disposal Act (1965) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976) established the modern regulatory framework.

Current market: US recycling facilities generate $6.5B/year; electronic goods recycling is a $16B industry growing 8.7% YoY. The Circular Economy represents a next-generation model that moves beyond landfill and simple recycling.

Source: In College, a Professor Gave… (tweet).

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• In College, a Professor Gave… (tweet)