History of humans and garbage

Author: Siligi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Siligi is a French agricultural scientist and an engineer at the French Agency for Environment and Energy Control. In this book, the author comprehensively reviews the history of human interaction with garbage: from the dirty and chaotic Paris during the Enlightenment era to the scavenging industry and garbage fertilizer industry that accompanied it; from using garbage to generate energy to waste sorting, treatment, and recycling; from different cultural traditions in handling garbage to garbage becoming a source of inspiration for artists. When dealing with this theme, the author adopts a somewhat romantic and optimistic attitude, occasionally treating the smelly garbage of history with a sense of curiosity. At the same time, he believes, "with human imagination and creativity, more solutions will eventually be found." However, what is called 'civilized progress' has developed alongside 'increasing garbage.' Perhaps in the future, when garbage occupies more space on Earth, attitudes like the author's romantic and optimistic outlook may no longer exist. This book tells the strange adventures and misfortunes of household waste. Their existence brings disasters to humans but also inspires people to transform waste into reusable recycled resources. It describes how garbage is suffocating and consuming cities, while also changing urban landscapes, bringing vitality to vineyards, providing heating for homes, sustaining the survival of millions of impoverished people, offering countless small jobs, fattening pigs, allowing children to play, alleviating the loneliness of prisoners, inspiring, and enabling friends to revel in joy.