Garbology

by

Edward Humes

George E. Waring Character Analysis

George E. Waring was the man appointed in the early twentieth century to help tackle New York City’s massive waste and sanitation problems. A former Civil War colonel who asked his employees to salute him, Waring brought a military-style discipline to sanitation. He hired an army of street cleaners who wore matching white uniforms, which instantly became iconic and were parodied in comics and cartoons. One of Waring’s most important innovations was discovering that some discarded materials could actually be reused, creating an early version of recycling. His efforts were very successful in cleaning up New York, and as a result, he set a template that was used in other cities around the world. Waring represents how governments can take decisive action to solve waste-related problems, particularly when they put the right people for the job in charge.

George E. Waring Quotes in Garbology

The Garbology quotes below are all either spoken by George E. Waring or refer to George E. Waring . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Hidden Costs of Waste Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

The job of cleaning up New York then fell to Colonel George E. Waring, a Civil War veteran who, before his military service, had worked as the city engineer responsible for reclaiming the swampland that would become New York’s Central Park. Waring had supervised the design of a drainage system that created the park’s famously scenic lakes and ponds while leaving the rest of it dry. He had gone on to engineer an affordable and efficient dual sewer and drainage system for Memphis that kept storm runoff and septic waste separate. This protected the city water supply from contamination, ending almost overnight the cholera and other waterborne epidemics that had beset “The River City” for decades. Reforming New York’s sanitation department seemed a natural fit for this leading sanitation engineer of the day, who harrumphed into office asserting that he wished to be called “Colonel,” not “Commissioner,” throughout his tenure. His workers were required to salute.

Related Characters: George E. Waring
Page Number: 39
Explanation and Analysis:
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George E. Waring Quotes in Garbology

The Garbology quotes below are all either spoken by George E. Waring or refer to George E. Waring . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Hidden Costs of Waste Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

The job of cleaning up New York then fell to Colonel George E. Waring, a Civil War veteran who, before his military service, had worked as the city engineer responsible for reclaiming the swampland that would become New York’s Central Park. Waring had supervised the design of a drainage system that created the park’s famously scenic lakes and ponds while leaving the rest of it dry. He had gone on to engineer an affordable and efficient dual sewer and drainage system for Memphis that kept storm runoff and septic waste separate. This protected the city water supply from contamination, ending almost overnight the cholera and other waterborne epidemics that had beset “The River City” for decades. Reforming New York’s sanitation department seemed a natural fit for this leading sanitation engineer of the day, who harrumphed into office asserting that he wished to be called “Colonel,” not “Commissioner,” throughout his tenure. His workers were required to salute.

Related Characters: George E. Waring
Page Number: 39
Explanation and Analysis: