Trash Talks: Revelations in the Rubbish

by Elizabeth V. Spelman

A lively investigation of the intimate connections we maintain with the things we toss away

It's hard to think of trash as anything but a growing menace. Our communities face crises over what to do with the mountains of rubbish we produce, the enormous amount of biological waste generated by humans and animals, and the truckloads of electronic equipment judged to be obsolete. All this effluvia poses widespread problems for human health, the well-being of the planet, and the quality of our lives.

But though our notorious habits of disposal have put us well on the way to making the earth inhospitable to life, our relation to rejectamenta includes much more than shedding and tossing. In Trash Talks , philosopher Elizabeth V. Spelman explores the extent to which we rely on trash and waste to make sense of our lives. Examples are We use people's rubbish to gain information about them. We trumpet wastefulness as a means of signaling social status. We take the occupation of handling trash and garbage as revelatory of possible moral or spiritual shortcomings. We are intrigued by or in distress over the idea that evolution is a prodigiously wasteful process and that it is to the dustbin that each of us, and our species, shall ultimately repair. In the heaps of our trash, some see consequences of dissatisfaction, while others find confirmation of a flourishing consumer economy. While we may want to shove debris and detritus out of sight, many of our most impassioned projects
involve keeping these objects resolutely in mind. Trash talks, and there is much of which it speaks.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2016

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I's a fan of Spelman's Repair: The Impulse to Restore in a Fragile World, and so was eager to learn what she had to say about almost the opposite impulse—the desire to get rid of stuff. I have to say I'm a little disappointed. This book is as erudite and clearly written as Repair, but seems much looser, digressive—more a collection of thoughts and essays than a single, continuous argument. For instance, by chapter 2 trash quickly gets redefined as waste, which then leads to a discussion of conspicuous consumption and Thorstein Veblen—which is fine so far as it goes, if you're in the mood to read a long analysis of Thorstein Veblen. The same goes for Spelman's readings of Plato, Freud, Milton, Locke, and other mostly canonical authors—they're smart, but seem only loosely connected to each other or to the central theme of the book.

I did very much enjoy Spelman's chapter of Italo Calvino's "La Poubelle Agreee"—which I'd happened to read just the year before. But that's pretty much my point: I already felt inclined to read and think about Calvino, but didn't feel as though Spelman provided a conceptual frame for me to see the need to read all of the other authors she discusses. The simply seem writers she admires.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wide-ranging philosophical inquiry into the nature and meaning of trash -- Veblen throughout, unexpected but reasonable.

[Kristina Aziz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this book could have been better. The book has so much potential to be interesting that I picked it up, but the presentation of the subject itself was dry. I already knew trash is used in forensics. For whatever reason it was drilled into our heads that police and criminals alike have motive to go through your trash when I was in elementary school.
It was kind of interesting to find out what other countries do with trash that they import, but it really wasn't anything worth buying a book for. A google search or well placed tumblr post can easily replace it.
I feel with more every day language and hypothetical situations (like the id fraudster or policemen) with less of an academic approach to the matter would have made this book much more interesting.
As it stands it's pretty much a long essay written by a nerd who likes trash.
If you have the patience and imagination to apply 'garbology' to imaginary situations yourself, this is a good reference book for writers. For the average reader, there are better nonfiction books out there.