The idea of the waste bins is believed to have been conceived by
Eugène-René Poubelle (15 April 1831- 15 July 1907), French lawyer who introduced waste containers to
Paris. In 1883 “Poubelle law” was established in
Paris which implemented the usage of closed containers that separated waste by type. His decree provided for the sorting of waste into three categories: compostable materials, paper and cloth, and glass, which gave way to the idea of separate receptacles according to type of waste. In 1942, during
World War II, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt established the
War Production Board, which had people and companies focus on prioritizing the distribution of materials to war needs.
Nazi Germany also implemented recycling techniques, not motivated by nature conservation but for resource allocation for the war effort. Their recycling policy involved separating waste into three containers: general waste, metal-containing waste, and food waste. The
United States was not the only country concerned about the effects of landfilled waste. In 1972, Dutch activists Babs Riemens-Jagerman and Miep Kuiper-Verkuyl, installed a container in
Zeist to collect glass While beneficial in some respects, the "Tree Saver" had limitations, as it required people to transport the materials or leave them in front of their homes for pickup. founded the Is Five Foundation, the first curbside multi-material pickup of recycling materials serving
Toronto and its suburbs. Today, the blue box recycling system, as well as similar systems are in place in hundreds of cities around the world. The proliferation of curbside blue-bin recycling containers coincided with the increase in municipal recycling rates which increased from just over 6% in 1960 to over 35% in 2017. other cities soon followed, and the blue box curbside recycling system became a staple of late 20th and 21st century life. By the end of 1991, this number had increased by more than 250% to 3,955 programs. == Household collection ==