Rubbish!: The Archaeology of Garbage (Hardcover)

by William L. Rathje (Author), Cullen Murphy (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
One of the central tenets of the University of Arizona's Garbage Project is that "what people have owned--and thrown away--can speak more eloquently, informatively, and truthfully about the lives they lead than they themselves ever may." Project garbologists have alchemized more than 250,000 pounds of refuse--from landfills and from trash cans in selected neighborhoods--into a treasure trove for experts in marketing and consumer research, census studies and environmentalism. Garbologists have determined that people waste three times more beef when the meat is in short supply than when it is plentiful; that many women use birth-control pills incorrectly; and that lower-income families consistently buy small-size, brand-name products rather than cheaper generic ones. Erudite and witty cultural tour guides, Rathje, an archeologist and anthropologist who directs the Project, and Atlantic managing editor Murphy claim that our garbage problems are solvable; that, with proper safeguards, incineration may be a viable option in some communities; and that paper--not disposable diapers or fast-food packaging--is a chief culprit in overloading landfills. Illustrated. First serial to Smithsonian; BOMC and QPB alternates; author tour.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA-- "Truth in garbage" might well be an appropriate subtitle for this in-depth examination of how garbage reflects the society that tosses it. Based on the findings of the Garbage Project at the University of Arizona, Rathje and Murphy's book seeks to dispel current myths while enlightening readers about American society from this unique perspective. They give a historical overview of what the human species has been doing with its refuse since hunter-gatherer times: dumping, burning, recycling, or reducing the amount of potentially discardable stuff. Subsequent sections explain how we unconsciously tell the truth about our lifestyles by what we throw away. Interesting information abounds. The last chapter urges readers to observe a "Ten Commandments" of consumption and disposal, which is based not on what "we think we know" but on what data from studies like this one reveal.
- Carolyn E. Gecan, Thomas Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (June 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060166037
• ISBN-13: 978-0060166038
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,103,154 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books Ive read this year, February 6, 2004

By	Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Rubbish!: The Archaeology of Garbage (Paperback)

This is a fascinating overview of the world of garbology, the science of garbage. The authors begin by describing how the Garbage Project came to be, when students in a 1971 anthropology class at the University of Arizona hit upon studying garbage as a way to study people and culture. The Garbage Project has grown to become one of the leading scientific explorations into garbage, where it comes from, where it goes, and what it does when it gets there. Published results from the Garbage Project have covered such varied topics as changing patterns of meat consumption, using garbage volume to estimate population, and the relative quantities of diapers, newspapers, and plastics in landfills.

One of the most valuable contributions of the book is that it provides historical data to put garbage in perspective. Contrary to many people's beliefs, the authors argue that garbage and where to put it is not a new problem at all. They point out that one of the characteristics that make us human is that we create garbage, and we always have, back to the very first time a humanoid discovered how to create tools by chipping flint. To those who worry about our non-biodegradable trash, the authors remind us that the pottery shards of ancient archeological sites are nothing more than the indestructible refuse of yesteryear. And yet others worry about burying our trash in landfills which doesn't allow normal biodegradation to occur, but the authors point out that this also isn't new, describing an archeological dig of a putrid 2,000-year-old buried dump in Italy. Of course, the main message that the authors express is not that garbage is benign, but that the problem isn't new, and that garbage issues have been a concern since the dawn of civilization. They also point out that sanitation issues are even getting better. They give an overview of the history of garbage treatment in the US, from burying it under the kitchen floor, to building dumps, incinerators, and sanitary landfills. They point out that cities in the past weren't as clean as they are now. Cities used to produce mountains of coal dust and horse manure, and garbage would often simply sit on the corner, waiting to be dispersed by scavengers or pigs. They point out that "...ever since governments began facing up to their responsibilities, the story of the garbage problem in the industrialized world has been one of steady amelioration, of bad giving way to less bad and eventually to not quite so bad."

Scientists as well as ordinary people have very inaccurate ideas of what's in landfills today and how landfills work. Until the Garbage Project actually studied landfills, many landfill planners believed that trash would biodegrade somehow once it went into the landfill, and that the trash would eventually settle, producing large quantities of methane gas. By drilling into landfills and studying their contents, Garbage Project scientists have found that very little biodegradation actually occurs in landfills at all- -basically, only food scraps and perhaps a few lawn clippings break down. Since food scraps make up only a small portion of landfill volume, then settling and methane gas production is much less than expected.

If you think garbage is a problem, then an obvious way to address the problem is to reduce garbage volume. So what items take up the most space in our landfills? Many environmentalists would guess disposable diapers and plastics. But by meticulously analyzing landfill samples, Garbage Project scientists have determined that diapers comprise less than 2% of landfill volume and all plastics less than 20%. Paper, on the other hand, especially newspaper, doesn't compress well, doesn't biodegrade in landfill any better than plastic, and takes up 40% of landfill volume on average. Think of that next time you need to answer "Paper or plastic?" at the supermarket. By studying what's in our landfills and what actually happens to the stuff once it's been down there for a few decades, we can get better ideas about what the real garbage problems are and how to address them.

The authors suggest that the best solutions to garbage problems may be to ensure that there are economic incentives to garbage reduction. They point out that the weight and volume of packaging plastics has decreased dramatically since the 1960s- - plastic beverage bottles now weigh much less than they used to- -because it's cheaper for companies to pack and ship their items in lighter weight packaging. One of the persistent problems for garbage reduction is cities that charge a flat rate for garbage removal, rather than a per-can rate. In localities where residents pay a nominal fee for each bag of garbage to be disposed of, recycling participation rates are much higher, and garbage volume is less. The worst thing a city can do is to adopt uniform large containers for mechanized garbage collection, since garbage production magically increases to fill the space allotted to it.

After reading this book, I have a new-found respect for the Styrofoam cup and disposable diapers. I better understand why newspapers are so hard to get rid of, even through recycling. But there is one fishy result that leaves me a little suspicious- -at one point the authors argue that processed food creates less garbage than fresh food. The basis for this claim is a cross-cultural study they did in Mexico City and Arizona. They found that Mexican households produce a lot more garbage than American households, and that the larger volume is mostly attributable to the fact that Americans use processed foods where Mexicans use fresh foods. But wait, didn't the authors find in a different study that it was precisely food wastes that biodegrade in landfills, so in the end, isn't it better to produce more food scrap waste than packaging waste? This odd loose end leaves a bit of doubt in my mind that the book is entirely unbiased. But overall, I found the book incredibly informative and quite well written.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book should never have gone out of print., March 20, 1998

By	Barbara Francis ([e-mail]) (Amherst, Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

It isn't common to find a good-for-you book on an important ho-hum subject that reads as deliciously as a mystery novel. Rubbish has it all. The principal author, an archeologist by training and founding advisor of the 20 year old Garbage Project at the University of Arizona, knows it all-- how to use poptops to data strata in landfill cores, where people REALLY get their major appliances and what becomes of them, how things stand in the rag and bone trade, what socioeconomic group is most likely to use the giant economy size, why people throw out MORE of a product during a scarcity scare-- and he writes it right. His style is smooth and anecdotal; his attitudes are calm and practical. Dealing with garbage is a (yuck) touchy subject; we need this book to inform our practices.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There is a link between owning a cat and reading "The National Enquirer"!, June 26, 2005

By	Jonathan Nelson (Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Rubbish" is a highly academic book about "The Garbage Project" at the University of Arizona's Anthropology Department. The main idea behind "The Garbage Project" is to gain information about society by analyzing garbage patterns in various locations.

Despite being a book about garbage, the contents of the book are quite diverse. The book is divided into 4 parts. The first section, An Introduction to the Garbage Project, gives the background of "The Garbage Project", why it started, what they do, and what they hope to accomplish. This section also discusses how anthropologists use garbage to learn about ancient civilizations. The second section, The Landfill Excavations, discuss the basic theories of landfills, how the team takes samples from landfills, and discusses why biodegradation does not work in landfills. The third section, Interlude: Diapers and Demographics, I found to be highly entertaining. This section has a fascinating chapter on estimating the population of a neighborhood (as well as sex and age) based on the garbage collected from this neighborhood (a study done to initially help the Census Bureau). This section is also filled with useless information such as "There is a link between owning a cat and reading "The National Enquirer"". There is also a detailed discussion about disposable diapers in landfills. The final section, Garbage and the Future, was the most educational by far. This part discusses the serious shortcomings of citywide recycling programs and side effects people never hear about. There are also discussions on alternate garbage disposal methods, such as high tech incinerators used to generate electricity, as well as several other attempts at using technology to turn garbage into a useful product. The section and the book end with a chapter on reducing and addressing garbage disposal.

I think this book will not be for everyone. The book reads like a Master's Thesis at times, rather long and seems to ramble. However, some parts of the book are exceptional (such as the chapter on recycling or "Closing the Loop") and are really an eye opener.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in Environmental Sciences. Also, if you can manage to wade through pages of various scientific theories and facts, I'd highly recommend picking this book up! While a little slow reading at times, it is quite informative and I think a real eye opener.