suggest that the introduction of ninety-gallon containers should be of concern for three reasons.

First, the increase in discarded newspaper suggests that one counterproductive result of the larger containers may be a lower participation rate in any form of recycling. For people who find separating out recyclables a bother, the ninety-gallon bin is a no-penalty way of circumventing the issue. Likewise, the increase in “other” materials and textiles could indicate an alternative to the “donation avenue,” in which unwanted resources go to the Salvation Army and other charities, or even to yard sales.

Second, the substantial increase in the amount of hazardous waste indicates that the large bins are a convenient alternative to storing toxic items until used up at home or until the next household hazardous waste collection day. Third, at the same time that all-out recycling programs are being implemented to decrease the flow of garbage, collection techniques are being installed that unwittingly may be increasing the overall flow of garbage at an even higher rate.

The evidence for Parkinson’s Law of Garbage is not yet conclusive. The only way to know whether it is a behavioral pattern is hands-on garbology archaeology. This archaeological research question is important to answer for the method and theory of archaeology, for culture history, and for our cities’ immediate economic and environmental future. Garbologists, grab your gloves and facemasks. The results of your efforts may be enough to one day convince everyone to pay attention to their own discards—and then recycle them.

W. L. Rathje

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