RECYCLING OF MATERIALS AND REUSE OF PRODUCTION LABOR RESIDUES IN LATE MEDIEVAL EUROPE

Abstract

This work aims to address the recycling of materials and the reuse of production waste in late medieval Europe. It is divided into three sections; the first deals with the systems used to extend the use-life of different objects and materials; the second, with the methods used to recycle some of these by inserting them into a new production cycle, which allowed them to form part of new products; the third examines which were the main by-products of medieval industry, that is, waste materials that were reused for other production tasks. A brief assessment of the importance of these practices, both for society and for the medieval productive economy, closes the article.