Origin story

The idea for this site came to me when I realized that, well, garbage IS complicated. Confused and curious, I found myself muttering those words almost every time I tossed something out. Which bin? How clean? Lid or no lid? What happens if I get it wrong? What happens if I get it right? And of course, the rules would change whenever I visited another city, state, or country.

What was it like before rampant consumerism, fast fashion, and single-use plastics, before the conveniences of takeout, home delivery, and curbside pickup, and before the mantra “reduce, reuse, recycle"? When did we lose touch and so mindlessly embrace “out of sight, out of mind"?

Garbage is not a modern problem. Ever since humans evolved from a nomadic hunter and gatherer lifestyle to one of established settlements, enabled by the domestication of plants and animals, we've faced issues with waste and refuse. As the standard of life improved, and everyday conveniences were adopted, garbage became exponentially more voluminous and complicated to deal with. Wikipedia has a surprisingly brief—but interesting—page on the History of waste management. On that page I learned that in the 19th century, many US cities relied on pigs and dogs to roam the streets to consume trash. The animals pooped everywhere, though, so that solution kind of backfired.

We used to be able to burn, bury, and biodegrade our way out of the garbage problem, but that’s no longer possible today given the amount of plastic, metal, and glass we discard. Plastic, for example, is toxic when burned and takes 20-500 years to decompose. Metal and glass also have long timelines for decomposition, but at least those materials have higher recycling success rates and are less toxic. Thanks to the industrial revolution, we also now have the absurdly named Superfund sites, which sound like amazing places but are locations polluted with hazardous, toxic materials.

Here the rathole begins, and here the rathole continues. There’s so much to explore and learn and I hope you’ll continue to join me on this dumpster dive.