Zero waste: were our ancestors ecological?

Zero waste and the circular economy are the new challenges of our current society. Historical parallels with the management of waste from our ancestors.

©️Gallica - BnF

As of January 1, 2020, France prohibited the sale of certain single-use plastic products (cotton swabs, cups, plates). In addition, confinement has enabled many of us to realize that a form of rupture with current overconsumption models is necessary to limit our ecological impact. Thus, many families have launched the challenge of reducing the weight of their trash can passing through zero waste. 

The zero waste approach, which makes it possible to reduce the quantity of waste produced and its environmental impact by changing certain habits, is not always seen as a progressive approach but as a backtracking by its detractors ... And they are not wrong, but it is so much the better!

Grandmother's tips are fashionable

Cuisiner plus, acheter local, faire soi-même… autant de principes « écolos » utiles pour réduire nos déchets tout en essayant de prendre soin de la planète. Mais ces principes « nouveaux » sont loin de l’être, finalement. 

En effet, les « Astuces de grand-mère » ont plus que jamais le vent en poupe. On limite le nombre d’ingrédients et de produits et on use d’un peu d’huile de coude pour fabriquer nous-même plutôt que d’acheter. Nous sommes incité à récupérer, recycler et valoriser nos déchets et même les plus grandes marques s’y mettent. Nous prenons, en fait, exemple sur nos ancêtres, ces grands précurseurs malgré eux du Zéro Déchet. 

As for food, our ancestors did not really have any choice than to eat local. Before the arrival of the canned box and the appetizer in 1790, our ancestors dry, smoked or launched their products to keep them. And before the birth of the fridge in the 19th century, they brought up day by day from small local traders and bought in bulk with wooden, glass, white, ceramic or canvas containers.

In addition, many of our ancestors cultivated their own foodstuffs (cereals, vegetables and fruits) and raised chickens and pigs to support them. Their food waste was very useful to feed their animals and their land. Without being self-sufficient, our ancestors consumed in short circuit for the most processed products.

With regard to objects, for economic reasons first, our ancestors repaired them, had them ordered them, thus ensuring the revaluation of their daily supplies. Old clothes and rags were sold to a ragpicker, which recycled them in paper. 

Nos aïeux fabriquaient également leurs produits ménagers, leur lessive, leur savon…  Bien avant l’arrivée des produits chimiques et autres progrès techniques des années 1960. 

In short, since always, our ancestors have done with what they had at their disposal and according to their means. A paradigm different from our current society. Indeed, while in the last centuries the poorest had no choice but to enhance their waste and consume in a reasoned manner, the richest, consuming more, emitted the most waste. 

Are our ancestors polluting? 

Si nos ancêtres maîtrisaient les préceptes du Zéro Déchet sans même en avoir conscience, ils n’étaient pas beaucoup plus « écolos » que nous. Explications. 

Pour commencer, l’écologie est, entre autre, un mouvement de pensée dont l’objectif est de prendre en compte les enjeux environnementaux au coeur de l’organisation sociale, économique et politique par le changement du rapport homme/environnement. On parle d’écologie en son sens propre (celui de l’étude de l’habitat) depuis 1866 seulement, c’est un concept plutôt récent. Et bien avant qu’il soit démocratisé et au centre de notre organisation socio-politico-économique actuelle, peu de nos ancêtres ne se préoccupaient de l’écologie et de leur impact sur notre planète. D’ailleurs, on retrouve encore de nos jours des déchets laissés en -10 000 av. J.-C. par les hommes préhistoriques. Mais ces « déchets », eux, très utiles car de véritables témoins du passé ! 

Speaking of the waste management system, moreover, from Antiquity, a regular garbage collection system is set up in Athens or Rome. 

Then in the Middle Ages, the population is invited to pour garbage into storage areas outside the city to avoid polluting rivers and streets, in vain. 

In 1506, Louis XII set up the mud tax for the collection of garbage and their evacuation to clean the streets but the inhabitants continued to throw them through the windows. 

200 years later, the first industrial revolution will increase waste production and pollution with mining and textile industries in particular. It will be necessary to wait for the discovery of a link between hygiene and health and the invention of E. Trash, to see a garbage collection system almost similar to the current system. 

The parallel between industrial innovation and waste production will only escalade until today. The increase in consumption in the 1960s will not multiply 10 our proportion of waste (plastics, among others). A phenomenon that will hatch in 1970 the concept of political ecology, largely present in our daily lives. Since 2005 we have observed the reversal of the trend by improving the sorting of our waste and a greater ecological awareness. 

Mais que diraient nos ancêtres de ce « retour en arrière » par le Zéro Déchet alors que nous pouvons apprécier notre confort moderne ? Avaient-ils conscience de leur possible impact écologique et de ce qu’ils laisseraient aux générations futures ? 

Today, many followers of zero waste give a particular meaning to this sentence « Nous n’héritons pas de la terre de nos ancêtres, nous l’empruntons à nos enfants »…