Nazi German waste recovery and the vision of a circular economy: The case of waste paper and rags

Abstract

In Nazi Germany , reclaiming waste became an intrinsic component of the regime's economy as well as its ideological, racial, and expansionist ambitions. National Socialist interventions into waste streams began in 1934 with salvage campaigns. The state then brought urban waste policies and municipal waste services under its control, restructuring and 'Aryanising' the waste salvage trade. Moreover, both consumers and producers were prompted to collect and reprocess waste. Over time, the gradual expansion of the Nazi waste recovery policies and campaigns -here referred to as the 'Nazi waste exploitation regime' -brought forth a determined vision of a circular economy in which no waste whatsoever should escape its reclamation for the national community or Volksgemeinschaft. This article sketches the actors, structures, and objectives of this waste exploitation regime for the case of rags and paper and uncovers its entanglement with Nazi racist and genocidal ideology and expansionism.

Assessment of the Eco-Efficiency of the Circular Economy in the Recovery of Cellulose from the Shredding of Textile Waste

“…As such, several studies have demonstrated the existence of efforts to change the perception about the textile waste which is generated throughout the production chain, addressing several good practices that are environmentally friendly [ 20 ]. Such practices are related to the development of materials from waste [ 5 , 14 , 19 , 22 , 23 , 24 ], the recycling of textiles [ 12 , 20 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], and the development of textile fibers from non-textile waste, among others [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 28 ]. Table 1 offers an overview of the literature addressing the textile industry and the approaches related to economic and environmental aspects that hold opportunities for the circular economy.…”

Rethinking waste within business history: A transnational perspective on waste recycling in World War II

“…While we do not know how many of these waste utilisation processes were applied in practice (Boons, 2008), the decades around 1900 did experience a rise of small entrepreneurial firms which tried diverse methods to profit from reclaiming old and new waste and some committed to improving public sanitation (Jones & Spadafora, 2014). The founding of national trade organisations such as the American National Association of Waste Material Dealers in 1913 and the German Verein der Rohproduktenhändler Deutschlands in 1902 most likely signalled both the business's professionalisation and its wish to gain a stronger representation inside the industrial economies of the day (Durr, 2006;Weber, 2021;Zimring, 2004, p. 91).…”