A recurring theme in our readings this week was the idea that waste serves as a reflection of modern society. Scanlan uses garbage as a metaphor for modernity, which I find interesting because modernization and the rise of capitalism inevitably produce waste as a byproduct. It’s interesting to consider what society deems productive or unproductive. We often discard things once they lose their perceived value, treating them as no longer useful to us. In many ways, this mirrors how people avoid confronting unwanted emotions, memories, history, and even other individuals—disposing of them rather than acknowledging their existence. Humans tend to rid themselves of what makes them uncomfortable, but it’s important to recognize the broader consequences this has on others and the environment. This idea also connects to the concept of linear time. We mindlessly throw things away, assuming our relationship with them is linear. We acquire something new, use it, discard it, and then it seemingly ceases to exist. However, waste never truly disappears; it lingers in landfills, abandoned spaces, and polluted waters. A key takeaway from this week’s discussions is how disconnected we are from our waste and how willingly we avoid responsibility by adhering to a linear perception of reality. As a society, we should be more mindful of how we assign value to things and recognize that our actions have lasting impacts. Nothing is ever truly gone.