Wasps were making paper

Paper was first made in China

Paper-wrapped vegetables appeared in Europe

First paper was produced commercially in Philadelphia

Paper was first made completely from wood in Vermont

Fourdrinier machine that produced continuous roll of paper was patented

First important discovery of oil was made by Edwin Drake (lighting fluid)

First trash-sorting operation for recycling was introduced by the street commissioner in New York City

First aluminum recycling business was founded

Oil was discovered in the Middle East

The U.S. produced 15,000 tons of paper a day, using 5,000 tons of used paper and resulting in a 33 percent recycling rate. First landfills were established

U.S. Supreme Court outlawed ocean dumping of municipal waste

Americans collected rubber, paper, scrap metal, and tin cans to help the war effort

Polyethylene plastic was invented

Consumers switched to biodegradable detergents

The National Environmental Policy Act required all federal agencies to take environmental factors into account when making policy

The First Earth Day was held (April 22); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established; the Federal Clean Air Act was created

Senate Bill (SB) 5 was passed, creating the California Solid Waste Management Board; DDT is banned in the U.S.

Assembly Bill (AB) 939 established the Integrated Waste Management Act (IWMA), revolutionizing California’s approach to waste management; 26 states had enacted some form of comprehensive mandatory recycling law; the first polystyrene recycling plants were opened

California adopted a Resource Efficiency Program to help businesses do more with less.

Californians threw away an average of two pounds of trash per person per day—a great improvement over the three pounds per day estimated in 1990

The State of California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 2449 (Levine) which requires that larger grocery stores and pharmacies set up at-store recycling programs for plastic carryout bags, and offer reusable bags for purchase

San Francisco passed a measure to outright ban “check-out” bags in their city

Together the Progressive Bag Alliance, California Retailers Association and California Grocers Association have launched a “Bring It Back” public education to help support the statewide recycling program