Circular economy: Ancient populations pioneered the idea of recycling waste
(PHYSorg.com Archaeology & Fossils)

The circular economy is typically seen as the progressive alternative to our wasteful linear economy, where raw materials are used to make the products that feed today`s rampant consumerist hunger, which are then thrown away. The idea of the circular economy only took off in the 1980s, but this doesn`t mean that the practices at the core of a circular economy, such as repairing, recycling, refurbishing, or repurposing, are equally novel. All of these strategies have the aim of keeping materials in use - whether as objects or as their raw components - for as long as possible. And all are hardly revolutionary.