Currently reading: Richard Girling – Rubbish! Dirt on Our Hands and the Crisis Ahead. Published by Eden Projects Books in 2005,
Rubbish!is an examination of the problem of wastedomestic and industrialin the UK and elsewhere. Challenging and controversial, this is a rigorous examination of the problem of waste worldwide and the efficacy of the public and private initiatives designed to forestall a crisis fast ballooning into catastrophe. This is an investigation of the looming problem of waste in the 21st centuryour fridge mountain; our crumbling sewers; trading waste; packaging waste; the enormity of our industrial waste; spam emails and new forms of waste; and the horrors of incineration. It is an attempt to find a blueprint for our survival, and to examine the way our lives may have to change.
I think I picked this book up from the Wellcome Collection in London when I visited the exhibiton Dirt: The filthy reality of everyday life in 2011 http://www.wellcomecollection.org/whats-on/exhibit…
I thought after reading two US authors books on rubbish I’d see what a UK author had to say on the subject.
Having read the first chapter History I’m wondering whether to bother continuing. With a distinct lack of deductive rationale, Girling’s style is provocative opinion interspersed with historical quotes and statistics. I checked his biography to try to understand where he’s coming from and it transpires he’s senior feature writer for The Sunday Times. Which figures.
Disappointing so far. It did cross my mind that maybe he’s ironically adding the incredible mass of rubbish and laughing all the way to the bank each time somebody forks out £7.99 for Rubbish!
Any further recommendations of UK (or other) authors on rubbish welcome.
