Garbage then and now

Interesting article in today's NY Times about how much garbage New Yorkers have been generating over the past century. The story's hook is that garbage per capita, by weight, was much greater back in the 1920s and '30s, hitting its peak in 1940 at a level over twice that of the present day. In fact, once one makes allowance for coal ash, the graph flattens out considerably, showing remarkably little change over 100 years. The overall pattern, though, is clear:

The big economic drivers of the 20th century — improved transportation and refrigeration, the transformation of consumer convenience, the pressure on businesses to cut costs — all moved in one direction: toward less waste, not more.
"Everything relates to two principal factors — one is reducing costs, making things lighter and easier to transport, and the other is making them more convenient to the consumer," Dr. Walsh said. "And that often means making them lighter, also. I see this pattern throughout the century."

Although the findings immediately recall Bjorn Lomborg's statistics, they also reminded me of another (and rather more entertaining) book: an oldie but goodie, titled The Good Old Days -- They Were Terrible!

NOTE: The full study of the New York garbage records is in Environmental Science and Technology.

Posted by David on November 22, 2002 11:43 AM