Garbage in Modern Thought

Central Concept

Martin O'Brien, among many thinkers, argues that the understanding of garbage should be a central concept, especially since garbage typically correlates with social change, social roles, and institutions. Thus, beyond the level of individuals and their relationship to garbage, there is an interest in understanding the central role that garbage plays in all of society's roles, institutions, and forms of change. Major cities depend on whether the trash gets picked up on time or not. Politicians can lose their offices if they do not effectively deal with refuse issues in their locality. Much like the minds of individuals who view garbage in a secondary light, societies (as amalgamations of individuals) proceed on the basis of viewing trash as a secondary condition. Many societies approach the idea of garbage, much like actual garbage, as an afterthought. Philosopher [Page 301]Georges Bataille wrote of the ways in which early societies, like the Mayans, used sacrifice as a means of expelling the accursed share. Garbage is excess—it is a part of society that society no longer desires.

Social Roles

Dominique Laporte suggests that a major step in the transformation of the ways in which people dispose of garbage was how garbage disposal was domesticated, privatized, and essentially more intimately connected to the family as a unit. Garbage, understood in reference to social spheres, is a reflection of the relations among people. Entire social systems—of refuse collection and recycling—are dedicated to the social problems associated with garbage and its disposal or reuse. Politicians, activities, social agencies, and new social movements organize collective efforts around the issues associated with waste. Families, whether they approach garbage through effective measures or not, focus on garbage as aspects of their daily lives.

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