The View Through Waste

A Side Note

2006-05-02T18:26:00.000-07:00

I'm growing a bit frustrated with transcribing my handwritten work to the computer, so here is a glimpse of what is to come. The ultimate point I am aiming for is that "reuse" of artificially manufactured trash materials can in fact be an artistic and creative pursuit. The above image is from a student in the sculpture class of Jaakko Tornberg at the Open University of Uiah in Finland [University of Art and Design Helsinki]. As modern artists (in my definition, anyone who calls him- or herself an artist) come in contact with the variety of discarded objects produced in our societies, they illuminate the fact that these objects already exist as "art-objects." The creative appropriation of cast-off material can serve as a simple statement in and of itself, as in Duchamp's Fountain. We can also use the raw material sloughed off from society, perhaps dusted or hosed off a bit in some cases, and create new, complex, and innovative forms with it. In large part, the entire history of "fashionable" art has been segregated to the economically privileged. With the advent of communications, particularly the internet, trends have changed slightly. Although internet access is still only available to affluent citizens throughout most of the world, there is increasing opportunity for public access, especially in America. At least for now, the internet is a relatively free forum, and many subcultures and microcommunities have sprung up in the wake of its growth. This is particularly true for the discipline of Trashspotting, which was forged in the fires of an imaginary world, the internet comic strip known as Achewood. The internet is a launching-point for the absurd and wonderful, and for questions that people might not ask otherwise. Cultural movements like dumpster diving date back as far as the inception of dumpsters, and probably even before that (rubbish basket diving?). The avantgarde crowd in art have played with themes of waste for a long time as well. The internet is finally providing a location where those interested in trash can carry on a real discourse, and play off of one another's ideas. We are approaching more and more ways in which we can view ourselves and our peers through the traces of our consumption.

Article Summary and Review A

2006-04-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

Lovejoy, Luther E. "Garbage and Rubbish." Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science in the City of New York, Vol. 2, No. 3. National Housing Association: April 1912. pp. 62-69.

This is the earliest discussion of the urban waste problem that I could find, and so I will begin here. This document is a city-council address concerned mainly with public services, interaction between homeowners and the city on the trash disposal front, and the possibility of policy change. An old-fashioned, often colorful, language is employed throughout, with an attempt for almost 1/3 of the speech to encourage fear and disgust towards insects and rats as the logical result of poor waste management services (displaying the common demonizing of the trash we ourselves produce as something alien to us):

"Your reeking garbage pails then or your costly cement receptacles, left half open for five or ten days, to fry and stew and seethe and swelter in an August sun, mean nothing less than the production in your city and neighborhood of countless myriads of wriggling, struggling, developing worms, whose natural duty it is to grow up speedily to fly-maturity, to squeeze their way through your imperfectly screened windows, and introduce poison and death into your home" (63).

After describing this graphic and formidable enemy, Lovejoy goes on to describe the only way the people can fight against this definite "poison and death"-- patriotic organization and cooperation! As trite as his prescription might appear (Lovejoy himself admits that he has no specific plan for waste management reform, other than that a plan is necessary), in general it is applicable and relevant to the waste management problem at all points in social history.

The main relevance of this article to my own investigation is the glimpse it offers of the public attitude towards waste nearly a century ago. Throughout the address, there is not a single mention of reducing the waste output of citizens, although there are numerous mentions of the 'burning of rubbish' as a safe and economical disposal. Despite its environmental oversight and outdated views, Lovejoy's article offers some advice for waste management programs that could be applied to modern recycling reform, and I hope to re-establish these suggestions later on when considering just this topic.

Veiller, Lawrence, et. al. "Discussion: Garbage and Rubbish by Luther E. Lovejoy." Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science in the City of New York, Vol. 2, No. 3. National Housing Association: April 1912. pp. 169-180.

This discussion of various Board of Health leaders from different American cities was incredibly interesting, as each discussed the way his own city was grappling with the waste disposal problem. There was a tendency to see incineration as the safest and most healthy option, with absolutely no awareness of trash fumes or air pollution. The emphasis in all cases was on dry and airtight storage, prompt and frequent collection, and economical disposal. There was also an emphasis on legislation to enforce collection and cleanliness standards, and the use of city police officers as sanitary inspectors.

"Fresh garbage is eatable; it does not become uneatable until it begins to putrefy. It is absolutely harmless and there is no danger attached to it at all when it is fresh, and the poor have been known to thrive upon fresh garbage from the garbage pails of wealthier people. The real danger lies in putrified garbage, which clings to teh cover and the handles of your garbage pails. Ninety per cent of the stuff that is dumped in is not a menace; it is the dirty garbage pail and the little spot which sticks to the outside or the inside, on which a hundred flies clustered" (Mr. Marani, 174).

Mr. William G. Kirschbaum, from the Board of Health of New Bedford, Massachusetts, brought up the apparently common practice of 'swine licenses'-- transporting garbage to farms to be fed to the pigs. He mentioned it in a negative context, pointing out how his own town had reduced the number of such swine licenses as cities like Providence had increased their number. Throughout the discussion there was a note of definite racism and classism, with a constant emphasis on educating those who could be educated about the problems of waste, but those 'beyond education' (sometimes specifically naming various nationalities) must simply be convinced through the enforcement of heavy legislation. Perhaps the most reasonable argument in the whole discussion was raised by a Dr. Kiefer of Detroit, who disagreed with Lovejoy's original point that the final disposal of garbage is of no concern to housing and Board of Health reformers. Kiefer pointed out that all too soon, dump sites become the location for new residential areas, because of limitations on space and a growing population. He suggested that today's ignorance in the matter of waste disposal will be tomorrow's health conundrum, and 94 years later we can see just how correct Dr. Kiefer was.

Where Will Waste Take Us?

2006-04-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

Based on Wikipedia's definitions of waste, I will be focusing primarily on post-consumer waste,
consisting of leftovers or by-products of individual consumption and daily life. Most interesting in terms of exhibiting and observing humans is the large volume of waste produced in our post-industrial society; packaging, paper goods, and above all, extra food or slightly damaged luxury items that could be used by someone else, but are discarded along with the genuine "rubbish." Also of note to this investigation is the manner of waste organization: every nation has its own rules regarding waste disposal and recycling. Admittedly, I have not travelled very much, but in a recent short visit to Stuttgart, Germany, I was amazed by the efficiency and organization of the trash disposal system; in all public areas the trash receptacles had four different sections, one on each side, for plastic, paper, glass, and general rubbish. The initial effort that goes into establishing such a system is surely rewarded by the steady and continual flow of reusable raw materials produced by the population.

The BBC has produced a wonderfully informative page on waste and the various problems it can cause.
It is a pretty basic but interesting resource, so rather than summarizing it I will simply use ideas gleaned from it later on in my discussion; it will be referenced as [BBC: Waste]. In short, despite the overwhelming effects of our current waste production on public health, environment, and the prospect of our not-so-distant future, modern societies continue to bask in their ignorance of waste management issues. My hope in pursuing the topic of waste academically is to eventually contribute to, and increase, the woefully small public discourse on human waste production.

From this point onward, I will be publishing short summaries of, and responses to, various articles from the J-Stor Scholarly Journal Archive. Following this, I will be using the collected viewpoints and information to begin my own academic investigation of just how we might display one another, and ourselves, through the context of the waste we produce as modern consumers, and why this may be a vital undertaking.