This is a picture of a Spanish fort in St. Augustine, Fla. The walls are made of a mix of seashells and sand. When invading British ships fired on the fort, the cannonballs just stuck in the walls, which I believe were 5 ft thick. The Spanish troops occupying the fort were able to retrieve the cannonballs and send them back to the British ships.
So are you saying that those Spanish troops were the originators of the recycling trend?