Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
7.1 Introduction
The histories of waste, and of the words that have been used and continue to be
used to describe it, are inseparable from one another. Indeed, a quick survey shows
that three different types of vocabulary have emerged to describe what we now call
waste. In the
rst category, terms are associated with the themes of loss and
uselessness: d
chet in French from the verb choir (to fall), refuse and also garbage
in English (which primarily refers to animal offal), riuti in Italian, residuo in
Spanish, Abfall in German. In the second category, terms emphasize the dirty or
repulsive nature of these particular materials: immondice in French, immondizia in
Italian, from the Latin mundus which means clean; ordure in French from the Latin
horridus, meaning horrible. Finally, terms in the third category describe the
materials that make up the waste: boues in French, spazzatura in Italian, M
é
ü
ll and
Schmutz in German, rubbish in English derived from rubble.
1
The word waste belongs in the
rst category. From the old French vastum, which
means empty or desolate, it was
rst used to depict a desolate, ruined or neglected
region. Later, the term was used to describe a wasteful expenditure (and, in this
sense, it had the same meaning as d
nally acquired its current
meaning in the 15th century. The fact that the original meaning of waste has a
spatial dimension in that it described a place, similarly to spazzatura from the verb
spazzare (to make room, remove clutter), is likely not neutral. It is also undoubtedly
the case with the rich vocabulary, which has only been touched on lightly here, used
to describe various wastes. Indeed, the issue of waste has long been closely linked
to (even confused with) both the issue of salubrity and sanitizing of urban space and
the management of urban urine and excrement.
After a quick overview of the period between Antiquity and the eve of the
Industrial Revolution, we will focus on the period between 1770 and 1860, during
which the value of excreta, particularly urban excreta, thanks to its agricultural and
industrial importance, increased. Next, the birth of waste in the form of abandoned
junk and materials from the 1870s to the 1960s will be presented. Finally, we will
show that since the 1960s and 1970s, the environmental crisis has translated into a
waste crisis for which only imperfect solutions have been found. The story of waste
is an international one, however, here we focus on the history of waste in Europe
and North America
2
(with the exception of the last chapter) and do not address its
history in the former East Bloc.
3
é
chet in French). It
1
See also Harpet (
1998
).
2
Even if the literature about the history of waste has developed since the end of the 20th century,
it remains relatively scarce compared to other urban environmental history topics. See for instance,
for the last two centuries: Melosi (
2005
), Strasser (
1999
), Barles (
2005
) and Giuntini (
2006
).
3
See for instance: Gille (
2007
).
