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What Did People Do Before Garbage Collection?
A modern amenity that we take for granted
Taking out the trash is a chore that most people hate doing. Whether it is hauling a trash bag out to the can or hauling the can down to the curb, trash day generally elicits some grumbles from both children and adults alike. During these simple moments, people often take for granted the fact that we even have garbage collection at all. Garbage collection is a vital part of public health that keeps our cities clean, our streets clear and reduces the prevalence of pests and disease. Many modern cities would slow down and struggle mightily without universal waste collection. Can you imagine how much garbage would accumulate in a city like Tokyo or New York in a matter of days without garbage collection?
This raises an interesting and obvious question. What did people do before garbage collection? What would you do if there was no waste collection and no dumps to drive to?
Garbage was a serious issue for many ancient societies, and it was handled in different ways. From middens to city dump sites and river pollution, there were a number of gross and extreme ways that people used to deal with their garbage before waste collection became a part of modern society.
