ABANDONMENT
The Ephemeral Nature of Human Endeavors
HISTORICAL GARBAGE
The Lure of Old Garbage Dumps
May 11, 2003
Latest Update: May 11, 2003
If there is one activity at which humans excel, it is the production of garbage.
Throughout history, countless tons have been produced and been collected in
dumps. Modern garbage dumps are nasty, distasteful places which few people
wish to visit, but once the garbage has become old enough that the smelly
components have decayed away, it becomes far more interesting.
Mining camps and ghost towns are always accompanied by garbage dumps. Indeed,
sometimes the dump is the most visible sign of previous human activity. Typical
contents include broken remains of bottles and pottery, rusty cans, junk cars,
old stoves, and of course
the ubiquitous bedsprings.
The type and quantity of garbage can reveal a great deal about
the people who once resided near the dump. An expert can date the settlement
and determine much information about the activities of the settlement just by
sorting through the junk in the dump.
Modern garbage, unfortunately, also litters the landscape. While garbage that
is more than a half-century old becomes interesting, that which is only a few
years old simply spoils the landscape. Frequently, modern trash is intermixed
with old when careless visitors add their trash to the historical dump. So it
seems that dumps are never completely abandoned - an old dump will always
attract new garbage.
Two old chemical drums slowly rust away nestled beneath a juniper tree near
an old mine site.
Photos were taken in late 2000 in the House Range, central Utah.
OUR PUBLIC LANDS AT WORK
This is, unfortunately, a common use of our public lands - an unofficial
roadside garbage dump.
Lots of garbage, including an old stove and a chair, rust away in the desert.
Photos taken on May 11, 2003
I am standing in the bed of an old, rusty truck.
It is located in a dump in a mining area in the Simpson Mountains, western
Utah.
Photo taken on May 11, 2003
Photos will be added to this page periodically as I visit
more garbage dumps in the future.
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Heather Harrison. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to accredited
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