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Greatest Interview Ever: NYC's Trash Anthropologist Explains All
Remember Robin Nagle? The anthropologist-in-residence at the NYC Department of Sanitation? Well, here is a long interview with her! And it's awesome: "Every single thing you see is future trash. Everything. So we are surrounded by ephemera, but we can't acknowledge that, because it's kind of scary, because I think ultimately it points to our own temporariness, to thoughts that we're all going to die."
I love "thoughts that we're all going to die" instead of "the fact that we're all going to die."
It's a natural fact.
People don't like to think that they are purchasing garbage unironically.
I really like this lady. Sometime, somewhere (NYT article?), commenting on the fact that much of NYC's garbage is shipped hundreds of miles away to be dumped, or has been, she said something to the effect of 'future civilizations will be puzzled as to how and why this was done.'
Thank you again.
oh so good. I love to (or maybe not LOVE) think of the trash guys knowing a lot about each household from their trash. I do try to wave and say hi
when I see them, maybe to make up for my pathetic little reused grocery bag bundles of trash.
Kudos to the interviewer. What an interesting idea to conduct an interview with Ms. Nagle. The guy who wrote this did a great job (I think his name is Alex Carp).