Recycling in Pompeii Shows Human Ingenuity | The Institute for Creation Research

Recycling in Pompeii Shows Human Ingenuity
A recent report from The Guardian suggests that the ancient city of Pompeii may have had the world’s oldest known recycling program.1 A team of researchers has uncovered evidence that mounds of trash outside the city were collected to use as materials for various building projects.

Dr. Allison Emmerson, a member of the research team and Assistant Professor in the department of classical studies at Tulane University, said,

We found that part of the city was built out of trash. The piles [of rubbish] outside the walls weren’t material that’s been dumped to get rid of it. They’re outside the walls being collected and sorted to be resold inside the walls.1,2

One notable example of this recycling program were the pieces of tile and broken jars that were included in some walls, hidden beneath an extra layer of plaster.1

The city of Pompeii, Italy, was famously buried in ash resulting from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.3 This means that the process of recycling dates back at least to around the time of Christ.

The evolutionary worldview pervades modern western culture and often leads people to think of ancient people as their intellectual inferiors. If people evolved from an ape-like ancestor over millions of years, then it would seem natural to regard ourselves as at least slightly superior to our ancestors who lived thousands of years ago.

According to the Bible, God created people in Him image, intelligent from the beginning.4,5 Cain, son of Adam and Eve, is credited with the construction of a city. Within a few generations, his descendants included at least one herdsman, a musician, and a metalworker.6

Scientific and historical evidence when properly evaluated and interpreted, consistently fits with a biblical worldview. If the inhabitants of Pompeii were actively considering how they might make the best use of their garbage and had developed a recycling program, it indicates something about a wonderful gift from our creator: human ingenuity.

Crediting God for His wisdom in the way He designed all of life is a foundational principle of ICR’s approach to biology.7 If people have possessed the ability to consider how to make the best use of the materials they have been given ever since creation, their Creator should receive credit for the abilities He placed into them.

Evidence that people engaged in recycling 2,000 years ago is a reminder that people have always been people. Ancient people were not as different from modern folks as many may believe.

References
1. Alberge, D. Pompeii Ruins Show That The Romans Invented Recycling. The Guardian. Posted on theguardian.com April 26, 2020, accessed May 1, 2020.
2. Bio of Allison Emmerson. Tulane University. Posted on Tulane.edu, accessed May 1, 2020.
3. Pompeii. Posted on History.com Aug 27, 2010, accessed May 1, 2020.
4. Genesis 2:7.
5. Tomkins, J. Ape-Man or Image of God? In Morris, H. III et al. 2013. Creation Basics & Beyond: An In-Depth Look at Science, Origins, and Evolution, 173-178.
6. Genesis 4:17-22.
7. Guliuzza, R. J. 2019. Engineered Adaptability: Engineered Features Determine Design Success or Failure. Acts & Facts. 48 (6).

*Will Perry is an Event Coordinator at the Institute for Creation Research and holds a Master’s of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The Latest
NEWS
The Origin of Eukaryotes
Eukaryotes are multicellular organisms that contain diverse differentiated cell types. Within almost every cell there are subcellular compartments called...

CREATION PODCAST
Water vs. Wind: The Controversial Coconino | The Creation Podcast:...
Welcome to the sixth episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old...

NEWS
Fossil Fish Finally Filmed
The bizarre lobe-finned coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) “that flourished some 350 million years ago”1 continues to be a thorn...

NEWS
The Mosasaur: A Giant Sea Dragon
Mosasaurs (order Squamata) were massive marine lizards that were common in the pre-Flood oceans. Therefore, it is not surprising that their fossils...

DAYS OF PRAISE DEVOTIONALS
Summer 2025
...

NEWS
Was Life Detected on a Distant Planet?
There was celebration, albeit briefly, for the discovery of potential life on a planet called K2-18b, which is 124 lightyears away from Earth. The...

NEWS
Ichthyosaur Graveyard Explained by the Flood
Ichthyosaurs are marine reptiles that occur globally in the same rock layers as dinosaurs. Specimens with babies support the idea that they gave live...

CREATION PODCAST
What Do We Do With Geology's Unconforming Features? | The Creation...
Welcome to the fifth episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old...

NEWS
Freshwater Fish Fossil in Australia
Yet another fish fossil has been discovered. This one was found in the Australian desert and was dated by evolutionists to be “15 million years...

NEWS
May 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans...