Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

One person's trash is another person's treasure

Interesting blog from the Museum of London's Curating London about using litter as a way of determining how different users behave in the park and who goes where.

Anyone who knows me will know my first response to litter is TAKE IT HOME or at least put it in a bin but as a non-intrusive way of finding out how people relax in green spaces it is, nonetheless, an interesting approach. After all, if people in the past hadn't thrown things away, there'd be no such discipline as archeology, so why not start excavating people's stories from their trash in the present.

But still when all is said and done and as interesting as this is, TAKE YOUR LITTER HOME.

Read the blog here

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Permalink Reply by James H. on August 19, 2021 at 20:59

I suppose one difference is that back in the day litter was mostly organic.

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Permalink Reply by Liz on August 20, 2021 at 9:40

Yes, the Victorians were the ones to invent branded packaging for inexpensive items (before that unbranded tin, sacking or glass were the norm) and manufacture them for the masses. First plastics were as early as 1908 but plastic containers were really a post-war thing.

This programme (sadly not currently available) was a fascinating deep dive into what our rubbish tells us about society past and present. The sheer volume of packaging compared to the past, usually of single use plastics, and the increased amount of takeaway containers /bottles/ food on the go will be one lesson the archeologists of the future learn about this current age. I wonder how they will judge us.