Welcome fellow wasters!
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Final Collection of Contact Waste for the Semester
Here is a final collection of all of the contact lenses I’ve worn and had containers for all semester. There are so many in the picture, they could not be lined up in frame, and there are multiple layers. This is probably just under 100 days, which would total to near 200 contact lens containers–
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The Role of Fiction in Environmentalism
I enjoyed the introduction of fictional sources and perspectives presented by the readings for this week. For one, I always find mid to late 1900s science fiction stories entertaining, as often these stories are filled with futuristic sounding technology, but only that which could be imagined within the context of the real life technology of
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Waste Tracking #11
This week for tracking, I photographed my small trashcan from my nail work. In just one weekend, I nearly filled a bag with mostly paper and monomer-contaminated gloves. It made me think about how much waste and biohazards large-scale chemical use must generate. Even small-scale work creates more waste than I realized, highlighting how invisible
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Reclaiming Waste
Waste is often associated with people or things considered of lower value. This connotation exists because of the discomfort and unwantedness attached to trash itself. As mentioned earlier in the semester, dumpsites and landfills are often placed in lower-class areas, where minorities and people of lower socioeconomic status face the direct consequences of living near
the Role of Technology in Shaping society
In both News from Nowhere and Robot Dreams, technology plays a pivotal role in shaping the societies depicted, but the way it is employed reflects each society’s values and priorities. In News from Nowhere, technology is used sparingly, almost as a backdrop to a society focused on sustainability and simplicity. In this fictional world, the
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Asimov writes a waste ‘utopia’ – but highlights the importance of waste as a tool to combat social issues
I thoroughly enjoy many of the science fiction works of Isaac Asimov, an American science fiction writer and biochemistry professor. Reading the short story we did in class, apart from the fantastic science fiction writing, read as a sort of fable, intended to have a lesson behind it. In the story, we see a sociologist
Personal Reflection: Waste Rebellions and Waste Utopias.
This past set of readings really made me realize how waste is not just a physical problem — it’s deeply political. Waste can be used to challenge oppressive systems by making failure visible. In Sarah Moore’s article on Oaxaca, waste became a symbol of resistance. When the government stopped collecting garbage during political protests, the
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Reflection on Asimov and Morris Readings
In our fictional readings during the past week, it was very interesting to see these perceptions of what waste could be imagined to be like. In the Asimov reading, the Strikebreaker, a society had managed to completely reuse all waste by breaking it down fully and remaking something out of that. This society lived on
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Final Blog Post: Personal Reflection on Waste Rebellions (For 4/27)
Waste rebellions are acts of resistance that make use of the actual reality of discarded items to challenge oppressive systems and question the dominant social order. Understanding that waste streams often reflect and worsen existing social inequalities, these acts turn trash from something we overlook into something that actively creates change. Think about the example
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Waste tracking #10
In this week’s image, I see more food waste than I normally do. There are remnants of leftovers and some kind of takeout container. This makes me think about my other friends who have a specific bin for composting and how their familiar practices vary from mine. I do think that cultural background and family
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