Recycling not such a new idea

THE younger generation might be forgiven for believing that recycling is a new concept here. In fact, it’s quite old.

Anyone who grew up in mid-20th century Ireland will remember selling empty jam jars to their local shops; when messages were neatly wrapped in brown paper which was again reused, when clothes were handed down and when women seemed to spend much of their time darning, knitting, etc.

People knew how to stretch things, in every sense. Maybe it was because of wartime rationing and post-war frugality, but they didn’t waste anything: if something could be reused, that’s what would happen. Nowadays, as much as a third of all food purchased is wasted, according to statistics. And that in a time of austerity! Travellers were into recycling before the settled community and we remember them regularly going around the country collecting scrap metals.