A Wasteful History: Trash Talk
For the month of November, The Beautiful Blog will feature a two-part series: A Wasteful History. This series will examine both the history of waste collection and the history of recycling.
What should a society do with their trash? That is a question that everyone from the Ancient Greeks to modern-day Americans have asked.
Ancient Athens. Photo from Wikipedia Commons.
Humans have always produced waste in some form or another. Early civilizations might have had less disposable waste than we have now as a society, but trash was still created often in the forms of excess wood, metal, and glass. As societies developed and consumption increased, the question of what to do with one’s waste became more prevalent and invasive. Despite the evolution of society during the thousands of years that have passed, the root of the problem remains the same – how do we dispose of our waste in a way that is safe for both people and the environment?
Today’s blog post will examine this question by sharing how past and current societies have disposed of their waste. Take a look!
Waste Collection Timeline
3000 BC, Crete – People dig deep holes to hide refuse which they would then cover with dirt.
500 BC, Athens, Greece – The government develops a law requiring garbage to be dumped at least one mile from the city to preserve its beauty and prevent illness.
1354, England – King Edward III implements rakers, or people who were hired to remove trash from the streets on a weekly basis. These rakers then bring the waste to the River Thames to dump it.
Yellow fever disinfectant wagons. Photo from Historic Memphis.
1388, England – English Parliament bans dumping of waste in ditches and public waterways.
1400s, Paris – The city struggles to maintain defense as garbage piles rises to monstrous heights directly outside of city walls.
1657, New Amsterdam (present-day New York) – The city passes the first anti-littering law, making it illegal to throw or leave waste in the streets.
1757, Pennsylvania – Benjamin Franklin starts first street cleaning service and encourages the public to dig pits in the earth to dispose of waste.
1842, England – Social reformer Edwin Chadwick publishes The Sanitary Condition of the Laboring Population. The work is influential in securing the passage of the first legislation aimed at waste clearance and disposal. This work launches the Age of Sanitation.
1878, Tennessee – The yellow fever epidemic ravages Memphis. In the aftermath, the city organizes garbage collection from homes and businesses using small wooden carts pulled by mules as part of an ambitious sanitary reform.
1885, New York – The first garbage incinerator in America is built on Governor’s Island, NY.
Modern day garbage trucks. Photo from East Tennessee Enlightener.
1921, United States – The rear-loaded garbage truck is developed, providing more efficiency in waste pickup.
1934, United States – US Supreme Court bans the dumping of municipal waste into the ocean.
1970, United States – The Environmental Protection Agency is founded to regulate the safety and security of the natural environment across the nation. The first Earth Day is celebrated.
Today, United States – Americans make up less than 5% of the global population but create nearly 20% of the world’s garbage, producing over 250 million tons of trash annually.
Sources
Commercial Zone
Historic Memphis
Quinte Waste Solutions
Road Runner