Garbology, the most depressing hopeful book you’ll ever read

Garbology Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash by Edward Humes is a painful examination of America’s rapport with rubbish. It’s easy to generate refuse, toss it in recycle and walk away. Dishearteningly, everyday citizens’ well-meaning efforts to recycle waste are, at least as of Garbology’s 2012 publication, mostly misplaced. Turns out the folk in charge of guarding the junk are mostly clueless as to what best practices are around disposing of stuff safely and efficiently. And when they do have an understanding of productive mechanisms, there’s an overabundance of obstacles against implementing those measures, ranging from good ol’ fashioned ignorance and NIMBYism to cost.

But here’s the hopeful part. There are paths towards a far closer-to-trash-free world. Read the book to learn about them, and insist that your neighbors, your colleagues, your friends, your family and YOUR POLITICIANS read it as well. 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Planet was groundbreaking in its 2008 day, and I bet it’s still relevant. And Minimalists have a lot to say on the subject!