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Chapter 12
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Garbology, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Hidden Costs of Waste
Consumerism vs. Conservation
The Power of Individuals
Money and Politics
Summary
Analysis
After writing Garbology, author Edward Humes reflected on how, when he originally set out to write the book, it was about every American’s 64-ton lifetime trash legacy, not 102 tons. Humes discovered midway through the writing process that the U.S.’s trash addiction was actually larger than he realized. Rather than taking these large numbers as a symbol of powerlessness, however, Humes decided to focus on what could be done to change things.
This section shows that while Humes cares about getting the little details right, ultimately, these details are most important for how they relate to the bigger picture. In this case, the specific number 102 isn’t itself important for anything other than the fact that it’s memorable. The fact that the number is so large, however, helps convey just why waste in the U.S. is an addiction and why it needs an urgent solution.
Themes
Humes saw the difficulty of tracking trash not as a crisis but as an opportunity to consider a new way of doing things. He believed Americans had become too accepting of wasteful practices by big businesses. After inviting readers to submit their own garbage-fighting solutions, Humes laid out five of his own best suggestions: 1. Refuse (to buy unnecessary things or accept unnecessary trash like junk mail); 2. Go Used and Refurbish; 3. Stop Buying Bottled Water; 4. No More Plastic Grocery Bags; and 5. Focus on Cost of Ownership (of “cheap” disposable objects compared to durable, long-lasting ones).
Humes takes a practical approach and wants to make sure that there is no confusion from readers about the messages they should take away from his book. His concrete list of suggestions shows that he is interested not only in diagnosing a problem but also in providing specific ways to take action to solve it. Notably, these suggestions are all relatively easy for an individual or family to implement.
Themes
Humes concluded by reiterating that cutting waste is always a good idea: “economically, environmentally, and morally.” The 102 tons of waste doesn’t have to be the end of the U.S.’s trash story; there is still time for people to make it the start of a new story.
