Before we begin, it's worth noting that "waste" is entirely a human invention because, in nature, there is no such thing. Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading $ 0 / $ NaN /year All articles from our website & app The digital version of Today's Paper Breaking news alerts direct to your inbox Interactive Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia All articles from the other regional websites in your area Continue Over billions of years of evolution, life has found ways to exploit everything that's discarded by another.
Whether it's bones or flesh, faeces or the messy piles left by cockatoos, material is always useful in some way. That might be a source of energy or other essential nutrients. Consumers don't always throw recyclables into the correct bin.
Picture Shutterstock Human economies, however, are introducing things that have never existed before; or at least, not in the concentrated form that we now produce them. This might be anything from piles of paper to plastic, novel chemicals or nuclear wastes. This leaves us with vast quantities for which there is no natural process to reuse - or at least, not on a scale to make any meaningful difference.
If the volumes were less, it wouldn't matter much but, since around 1950 we have seen the "Great Acceleration" in the global economy. That was - and still is - driven by a combination of growing population and consumption. Clearly this cannot be sustained because the Earth's resources are not infinite and .