I’ve found it! I’ve finally found the sub-field of archaeology that allows me to combine my interests in sustainability, archaeology, and politics: GARBOLOGY! So naturally I am graduating Saturday with no experience doing garbology even though we have an awesome program here at the UW.Shoutout to Jack Johnson and the crew: http://uwgarbology.weebly.com/

Anyways, though picking through garbage doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun, there are some really cool things that we can learn about our modern society through the study of our trash. Looking at disparities in food, clothing, chemicals, and other material goods really gets at the heart of environmental and social justice issues going on right around us.

Garbology is definitely not without challenges though. I was particularly struggling with how we choose to frame our data in relation to demographics. Defining “poor” or “black” neighborhoods  or whatever other box you want to draw around the unit of measure is REALLY challenging while being PC. That being said, comparing communities is really where garbology excels.

I am definitely going to keep up with trends in this really cool field, you should too.