Garbology

Garbology

Adult nonfiction
We're Number One! We're Number One! Americans are quite fond
of this chant. It is not, however, always a cause for celebration.
According to Edward Humes' Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair With
Trash, we create more trash than any other people: 7.1 pounds per
person per day which works out to 102 tons over an average lifetime!
Out of sight, out of mind.
Great balls of fire! How did we get to this point? Humes gives
us the very interesting back story behind our current wasteful life
styles and spells out the scary unintended consequences. For me the
most frightening chapters were the ones on the oceans which are
rapidly becoming plastic soups. It is estimated that every year 5.6
million tons of plastic debris ends up in the oceans every year, much
of which is ingested by the small organisms that sustain the rest of
the food chain. Does this endanger their survival? Enough can take
down a whale. And can plastic's ability to bond with even more toxic
chemicals create a ticking time bomb for all consumers right up
through the top predators? Tuna sandwich, anyone?
By the way, unlike some environmental problems that deniers are
trying to find culprits other than humankind for, say global warming,
there is no wiggle room here. Only people produce plastic. Got it?
A couple of really fascinating chapters in the book are all
about how people are using both state of the art electronics and old
school archaeology techniques to learn more about where trash goes and
what items we consider garbage. They really shoot down a lot of
assumptions people have about both waste collection and recycling. I
bet you'll find some surprising information. I certainly did.
Fortunately, after schooling readers on the enormity of the
garbage crisis, Humes does not leave us guilt ridden and without
hope. His last chapters cover projects large and small aimed at
lessening humankind's trash footprint. Ranging from a family of four
whose trash for a year can fit in a large mason jar to some truly
enlightened cities and countries, they can give us much food for
thought. My favorite is the artist-in-residence program at the San
Francisco dump.
If you are in the mood for some trashy (intentionally bad pun)
summer reading or want to be part of the solution rather the problem
when it comes to garbage, Garbology is a truly excellent choice. I
think I'll have my book club read it for our November meeting and hope
it effects people's holiday buying.
On a personal note, Veazie used to have a structure, The Barn, where
people could leave or take useful items. I used to get lots of
wonderful things ranging from clothes and toys for my then young
children to yarn for my knitting. It also was an amazingly social
place. Sadly it was shut down when a few people left shall we say
inappropriate items. I think if we had more Barns a lot of useful
items would be diverted from the trash stream.
A great big shout out goes out to all who wrestle with the garbage
crisis that is practically invisible to most of us.
Julia Emily Hathaway
PS In the 24 hour gap between writing and posting I saw a fascinating
article on composting in the Big Apple. New York City is having
students in 230 of its 1300 public schools (with plans to expand to
all) placing uneaten food in separate containers for composting. Some
kids even sort out uncompostable stuff. Not only is the city saving
$10 to $50 each ton and creating rich soil farmers will buy, they are
creating disciples of green. There are very few kids who don't like
showing mom and dad the error of our ways.



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