On Tuesday 18th February, The CBRL Amman Institute held a workshop led by Dr Fatma Marii titled “From Past to Present: Recycling and Reusing Materials in Antiquity and Today.”
The workshop provided a platform for archaeologists, cultural heritage specialists, architects, scientists, and modern recycling and reusing waste management specialists, to come together and discuss the lessons learned from both old and modern practices, and the obstacles and challenges faced today.
Archaeological studies around the globe have found that recycling consumer products is not a modern behavior but rather an ancient practice for different materials. By studying these old practices, we can appreciate the ingenuity of our ancestors and apply these lessons to enhance our current recycling systems. As a result, the legacy of recycling in antiquity inspires us to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle, ensuring that we preserve our planet for future generations.
The workshop was divided into three sessions:
The first session explored recycling materials in antiquities and presented examples and evidence from antiquities for recycling materials. Prof. Zeidan Kafafi began this session by presenting Recycling the Jordan Valley: An Example from Tell Damiya. Dr. Victoria Sainsbury then presented Recycling in the Roman Period is Nothing New, Dr. Stephen Merkel presented the Silver and Cold Coins Recycling in the Viking Age, and Dr. Fatma Marii talked about Recycling Glass in the Petra Byzantine Church.
The second session included examples from Jordan for reusing old objects and buildings in modern times. Ms. Samar Al-Sroor and Arch. Jehad Al-Masaeid talked about the Adaptive Reuse of the Ancient Site of Umm Al-JimĀl from the Mandate Modern period to the Present.
The third session was about recycling solid waste in Jordan today. Eng. Sabreen Mheidat and Eng. Siwar Shatanawi from the Ministry of Environment in Jordan discussed the legal frameworks and strategies for waste management laws and arch. Sanaa Taan presented The GreenJO as the First Smart Application for Recycling in Jordan: Potentials and Obstacles.
Speakers and participants joined a roundtable discussion on the role of archaeological material science and oral history in understanding the past’s relationship with material recycle, reuse and waste management. They also compared recycling and its purpose between the past and the present. In the past, recycling was mainly used for economic reasons, while in modern times, it is used for environmental reasons.
The discussions emphasized the importance of community awareness for recycling products; conducting workshops and training for schoolchildren and young people to encourage the new generation to lead on these issues; and enforcing the laws and strategies for waste recycling legislation.
The recommendations are for blending traditional and modern practices to ensure the sustainable use of materials in heritage conservation while addressing contemporary waste management challenges. Nowadays, there are many initiatives for awareness campaigns for people to reduce, reuse and recycle their products, as people look for different solutions to reduce the impact of climate change on the Earth in the past century.
