In “The Hidden Life of Garbage,” Heather Rogers writes about the waste disposal in the United States and how dangerous is getting. Land dumping has been the main disposal method for many years because of the low cost. She writes how landfill is a designed construction in which the trash is far away from the environment. Therefore, isolation is accomplished with a bottom liner and a daily covering of soil. She also says that a sanitary landfill uses a clay liner to isolate the trash from the environment. Meanwhile, the methods of waste disposal have improved over time. Also, that getting rid of garbage is quickly becoming a big problem due to our methods of waste disposal are only a temporary solution. Moreover; the waste that can’t decompose
The broad plateau at its summit is large enough to hold Dodgers Stadium with plenty of room for parking. Set to close this October, it is the country’s largest active landfill. Most of the 130 million tons of waste buried for eternity beneath its lumpy slopes could have been recycled” (1). With the use of words such as “trash mountain”, the reader can greatly visualize America’s landfilling problem and the importance of recycling.
Response to Dumpster Diving I first read the essay, “On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner on New England Journal of Public Policy. The first lines of the essay amazed me, for I have never heard about a person going dumpster diving or scavenging. Eighner’s “On Dumpster Diving” is a part of his latest work, “Travels with Lizbeth” (1993), which is based off of his homelessness travels with his dog (Lizbeth).
In the essay “On Dumpster Diving”, the author Lars Eighner informs us about the art of dumpster diving. The writer, who speaks from personal experience of gathering things from dumpsters, prefers to be called a “scavenger” rather than “foraging” for scavenger, in the writer’s opinion, has an honorable meaning for doing something that takes skills and experience. In the beginning, Mr. Eighner demonstrates the stages that any new dumpster diver goes through. Feeling of shame and Self-hatred is the first phase which the author explains as they hate to be seen. However, after they realize how perfectly good stuff people throw in dumpsters, they become obsessed by gathering anything their hands lay on.
Homeless people are viewed as the rats and inferior people in society; often ignored and looked down upon, homeless people have the deficit of not being able to have many of the comforts in life that we may have. This is not only hurting our society morally, but it also helps us economically since there are people that aren’t buying/selling things or working. This is a major issue, since in the meanwhile, we as a society are throwing away things that still have worth or can be used. This is elaborately described in Eighner’s essay “On Dumpster Diving,” where he narrates his life of homelessness, detailing the struggling and analytical life of homelessness. During his narration, he emphasizes the fact that he has been able to survive due to
While you're walking down toward your dumpster to throw your trash think about how much food is going to waste just because it's a day over the expiration date. The essay “On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner comes from his book Travels with Lizbeth. In this essay Eighner speaks about his journey throughout his life living on the street and having to join the dumpster diving family. Although the term dumpster diving for him proved to be inaccurate because he lacked the ability to lower himself into dumpsters. He prefers the word “scavenging” when referring to what he does to obtain food and daily necessities.
Have you heard about some weird billionaires like Bill Gates? Gates is not only famous for his identity of billionaire but also well known for his asceticism. Applying to Pablo Picasso’s words, “I’d like to live as a poor man with lots of money” (515). Live as a rich man but think as a poor man. Living with lots of money does not necessarily restrict humans’ thoughts, if people can adjust themselves well in mental level.
1. Eighner’s attention to language in the first five paragraphs causes the reader to view dumpster diving differently than they normally would. By providing the reader with his own personal views of how he sees a dumpster diver, and the terms he prefers to use when referring to them, Eighner inserts a more positive perspective over dumpster diving. For example, Eighner “I live from the refuse of others, I am a scavenger” (Eighner 108). Eighner indirectly dismisses the typical negative ideas about dumpster diving and instead puts it in a more positive light.
Materialism is the constant obtaining of commodity while sacrificing human relationships. For decades people have had the notion that obtaining materialistic goods is a portrait of success. In the essay “On Dumpster Diving” Lars Eighner stated that he learned “The first is to take what I can use and let the rest go. I have come to think that there is no value in the abstract. A thing I cannot use or make useful, perhaps by trading, has no value, however fine or rare it may be.”
Imagine spending one year of your life living in a dumpster. Not just the average, everyday dumpster, but a customized dumpster suited to meet all of the essential needs for one to live in. Professor Jeff Wilson, also referred to as “Professor Dumpster,” is engaged in a one year project in which he will be sleeping in a dumpster every night. His future plans consist of making the dumpster even more appealing by adding a toilet, solar panels, a second floor, and several other amenities. Wilson says in the article, “‘We could end up with a house under $10,000 that could be placed anywhere in the world, fueled by sunlight and surface water, and people could have a pretty good life’”
Challenging Perceptions Society has perceptions about people who are different, these perceptions; also referred to as stereotypes, are not always true. Society has to understand that dumpster divers are not all the same, some dumpster dive in order to get something they want, others dumpster dive to get something they need. All dumpster divers are not uneducated, some events just forces them to have to dumpster dive, even with a college degree. Also, homeless dumpster divers do not necessarily have a miserable life, they have enough to live with. Lars Eighner in his essay “On Dumpster Diving,” challenges the way the middle-class people perceive homeless people who dumpster dive.
The saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is quite known to everyone. Many people know and are aware of this saying, but may interpret it very differently. In the essays, “The Town Dump” and “On Dumpster Diving”, the authors, Wallace Stegner and Lars Eigner agree that some things people throw away do actually have value. Though the authors agree on the sense that “trash” may be valuable, and things should be appreciated, they agree for entirely different reasons. Wallace Stegner grew up in a young town named Whitemud, in which he described as exciting and full of wonder.
Eighner’s Dumpster diving is all about scavenging, trashes that seems to be more valuable that it seems. The author appeals to ethos, logos, pathos throughout the essay. Eighner had enough experience as a dumpster that he knew what was valuable and what wasn’t, so he would just take what has value and would leave the things that he thought was unnecessary, so he appeals to ethos in this. Now, talking about logos, eighner also uses this technique because in the essay he says that he can learn a lot about the person based on their trash, he could find bills, contraceptive, etc on dumps.
In Analyzing Parts of “My Daily Dives in the Dumpster” In the essay “My Daily Dives in the Dumpster,” Lars Eighner—an educated yet homeless individual—recounts his experience as a scavenger who seeks for his basic necessities in dumpsters. On his journey of survival in a penniless condition, Eighner has acquired important life skills and most importantly, gained valuable insights about life and materialism. Throughout his essay, Eigher employs deliberate word choice, a didactic tone, and a logical organization to convey that there is no shame in living “from the refuse of others” (Eighner) and to emphasize that materialistic possessions do not guarantee a fulfilled, happy life.
Lars Eighner goes into great detail in his essay, “On Dumpster Diving”, when discussing about his experiences living on the streets and the ways of Dumpster diving. He called himself a “scavenger” and even though he would rather live a “comfortable consumer life,” he learned so much from being a scavenger. Eighner begins the chapter with the three principles; what is safe to consume, knowing the Dumpsters, and knowing the answer to the question “Why was this discarded?” He then discusses how to identify good or rotten foods; what will leave the person satisfied or have the person end up with botulism. Eighner also states the benefits of knowing the different locations of dumpsters, like his experience with the Dumpster behind a pizza delivery shop.
In the text "On Dumpster Diving," Lars Eighner gives us an inside depth of what it's like being homeless and having to dumpster dive for living. Lars Eighner shows how dumpster diving has become a full-time job because it's the only way he can survive. Eighner claims that dumpster diving requires a lot of effort, he made some rules that would help others in the same situation become more efficient and find supplies that are useful for their survival. Dumpster diving has helped Eighner realize that materialistic things aren't necessary and that you should live off necessity. Eighner used to invest on materials that weren't necessary, but dumpster diving has helped him find value in his life and it helped him realize that people need must be grateful for what they have.