Garbology
Encyclopedia
The primary academic meaning of garbology is the study of (mostly modern) refuse and trash
. As an academic discipline it was pioneered at the University of Arizona
and long directed by William Rathje
. The project started in 1973, originating from an idea of two students for a class project. It is a major source of information on the nature and changing patterns in modern refuse, and thereby, human society.
Industries wishing to demonstrate that discards originating with their products are (or are not) important in the trash stream are avid followers of this research, as are municipalities wishing to learn whether some parts of the trash they collect has any salable value. The term 'garbology' is also used as an amusing term for the 'science' of waste management
, with refuse workers called 'garbologists'. A. J. Weberman
claims to have invented the word "garbology" to describe his study of Bob Dylan
's garbage in 1970, but according to the Oxford English Dictionary
, it was first used by waste collector
s in the 1960s.
The studies of garbology and archaeology
often overlap, because fossilized or otherwise time-modified trash is quite often the only remnant of ancient populations that can be found. For those who did not leave building
s, writing
, tombs, trade
goods, or pottery
, refuse and trash are likely to be the only possible sources of information. In addition, ancient garbage sometimes contains information available in no other way, such as food remains, pollen
traces of then local plant
s, and broken tools.
. During the time that Rathje was starting his projects many misconceptions began and the nation became more conscious of what they were throwing away. Many Americans
started thinking the landfills were filled with their "most commonly used items"; fast food containers, disposable diapers, and Styrofoam. Rathje thinks this assumption derives from the fact that these items are often the most colorful and easy to spot. The industrial trash was not correctly accounted for before Rathje's project. According to charts before Rathje the amount of building
material in the land fills was zero.
He started by surveying
different areas of the country to better understand what types of garbage survives under different climates. He found there was little difference between the sites because the garbage is compacted. The California landfills did have less paper than those in Illinois. Recycling
is thought to be the cause of the paper difference between states. Rathje's research uncovered some other misconceptions about landfill
s. In particular, it was revealed that the rate of natural biodegradation
is far slower than had been assumed (e.g., in capacity planning). It was found that the plastic bottles that were crushed at the top were able to be re-inflated easier than those that were at the bottom because of a new system of bottle making called light-weighting. This is the process of using less plastic in bottles to conserve
material and save money. Light-weighting is not limited to plastic alone; this process is used for aluminum and paper as well. Rathje also found that Americans were wrong about what they thought they threw away most. When combined, the three most infamous types of trash—diapers, fast food containers, and Styrofoam—amounted to less than three percent of the landfill's waste. Rathje found that plastic
was 20-24 percent of waste and paper
alone was 40 percent of the waste found in landfills. Thirteen percent of this paper waste was from newspapers. Rathje states the irony of this fact in his book. He talks about how newspapers are usually the ones that report things such as waste and pollution
and it is these same newspapers clogging the landfills. Rathje discusses the rate of closing landfills and how for every six small landfills closed one large landfill opens. At the time he published his book he predicted that in the next five years 50 percent of the landfills open at the time would close. He determined this from his findings. In an effort for states to prevent their area becoming a large landfill often states ship
their trash to other states. States such as Michigan
are taking measures to prevent their state from being the landing spot for the nations trash. Michigan has found that in the past years most of their rise in trash rates are because of trash imports from Canada
.
. This affected area is twice the size of Texas. The scientists study the effect of the trash on the marine life, and how to solve the rising problem. Another current study is the process of changing waste into energy
. As both become a rising problem the methane in landfills has the potential to be used to generate small amounts of electricity
.
Garbology is also the term used to describe the communal sorting, separating, and disposal of landfill, recycling, and compostable items at Holden Village. Holden Village is a ministry of the Lutheran Church in the Cascade Mountains of Washington and has utilized the term for over a decade. It reflects both the community's commitment to sustainable practices and a care for creation. Holden hires a full time "Garbologist" who leads groups of community members in the sorting of the village waste.
Waste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
. As an academic discipline it was pioneered at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
and long directed by William Rathje
William Rathje
William Laurens Rathje is an American archaeologist. He is professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Arizona, with a joint appointment with the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, and is consulting professor of anthropological sciences at Stanford University...
. The project started in 1973, originating from an idea of two students for a class project. It is a major source of information on the nature and changing patterns in modern refuse, and thereby, human society.
Industries wishing to demonstrate that discards originating with their products are (or are not) important in the trash stream are avid followers of this research, as are municipalities wishing to learn whether some parts of the trash they collect has any salable value. The term 'garbology' is also used as an amusing term for the 'science' of waste management
Waste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
, with refuse workers called 'garbologists'. A. J. Weberman
A. J. Weberman
Alan Jules Weberman , better known as A. J. Weberman, is an American writer, political activist/gadfly, and popularizer of the terms garbology and "Dylanology." He is best known for his controversial personal confrontations with the musician Bob Dylan and for his 30-year involvement with the...
claims to have invented the word "garbology" to describe his study of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's garbage in 1970, but according to the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
, it was first used by waste collector
Waste collector
A waste collector is a person employed by a public or private enterprise to collect and remove refuse and recyclables from residential, commercial, industrial or other collection site for further processing and disposal...
s in the 1960s.
The studies of garbology and archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
often overlap, because fossilized or otherwise time-modified trash is quite often the only remnant of ancient populations that can be found. For those who did not leave building
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
s, writing
Writing
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
, tombs, trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
goods, or pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
, refuse and trash are likely to be the only possible sources of information. In addition, ancient garbage sometimes contains information available in no other way, such as food remains, pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
traces of then local plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s, and broken tools.
University of Arizona
William Rathje's start of his garbology excavations began in 1987. Rathje was hoping to find more information regarding what the landfills contained as well as to examine how garbage reacts in its environmentEnvironment (biophysical)
The biophysical environment is the combined modeling of the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and includes all variables, parameters as well as conditions and modes inside the Earth's biosphere. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories:...
. During the time that Rathje was starting his projects many misconceptions began and the nation became more conscious of what they were throwing away. Many Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
started thinking the landfills were filled with their "most commonly used items"; fast food containers, disposable diapers, and Styrofoam. Rathje thinks this assumption derives from the fact that these items are often the most colorful and easy to spot. The industrial trash was not correctly accounted for before Rathje's project. According to charts before Rathje the amount of building
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
material in the land fills was zero.
He started by surveying
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
different areas of the country to better understand what types of garbage survives under different climates. He found there was little difference between the sites because the garbage is compacted. The California landfills did have less paper than those in Illinois. Recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
is thought to be the cause of the paper difference between states. Rathje's research uncovered some other misconceptions about landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
s. In particular, it was revealed that the rate of natural biodegradation
Biodegradation
Biodegradation or biotic degradation or biotic decomposition is the chemical dissolution of materials by bacteria or other biological means...
is far slower than had been assumed (e.g., in capacity planning). It was found that the plastic bottles that were crushed at the top were able to be re-inflated easier than those that were at the bottom because of a new system of bottle making called light-weighting. This is the process of using less plastic in bottles to conserve
Conserve
Conserve may refer to:* Conserve , a preserve made from a mixture of fruits or vegetables* Conserve , an Indian environmental organization*Conserve , a Dutch publisher...
material and save money. Light-weighting is not limited to plastic alone; this process is used for aluminum and paper as well. Rathje also found that Americans were wrong about what they thought they threw away most. When combined, the three most infamous types of trash—diapers, fast food containers, and Styrofoam—amounted to less than three percent of the landfill's waste. Rathje found that plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
was 20-24 percent of waste and paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
alone was 40 percent of the waste found in landfills. Thirteen percent of this paper waste was from newspapers. Rathje states the irony of this fact in his book. He talks about how newspapers are usually the ones that report things such as waste and pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
and it is these same newspapers clogging the landfills. Rathje discusses the rate of closing landfills and how for every six small landfills closed one large landfill opens. At the time he published his book he predicted that in the next five years 50 percent of the landfills open at the time would close. He determined this from his findings. In an effort for states to prevent their area becoming a large landfill often states ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
their trash to other states. States such as Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
are taking measures to prevent their state from being the landing spot for the nations trash. Michigan has found that in the past years most of their rise in trash rates are because of trash imports from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Present-day studies
Garbology today is used to assess waste and figure out new ideas for waste management. Scientists are currently studying the floating mass of plastic trash in the Pacific OceanPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. This affected area is twice the size of Texas. The scientists study the effect of the trash on the marine life, and how to solve the rising problem. Another current study is the process of changing waste into energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
. As both become a rising problem the methane in landfills has the potential to be used to generate small amounts of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
.
Garbology is also the term used to describe the communal sorting, separating, and disposal of landfill, recycling, and compostable items at Holden Village. Holden Village is a ministry of the Lutheran Church in the Cascade Mountains of Washington and has utilized the term for over a decade. It reflects both the community's commitment to sustainable practices and a care for creation. Holden hires a full time "Garbologist" who leads groups of community members in the sorting of the village waste.