Exploring "Throw-Away" Culture: A Fireside Chat w/ Robin Nagle & Maggie Lee

180 Orchard St,New York NY 10002

25 January, 2023

Description

When a sanitation worker hauls away your trash bin and dumps it in a truck, all that garbage seems to magically disappear—but, as many of us know, that’s simply not the case. Where does our trash and recycling go? Why do we produce so much of it? Has it always been this way? Robin Nagle, author of the book Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City, and Maggie Lee, Director of Cultural and Educational Programs at the Sanitation Foundation, hope to answer these questions and foster a dialogue about the origins of “throw-away” culture, the impacts it continues to have on New York City and our environment, and who should ultimately be held responsible. More about Robin: Robin Nagle has been the official Anthropologist-in-Residence at the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) since 2006. She is also a clinical professor with NYU Liberal Studies, where she teaches environmental studies through an anthropological perspective. Her research focuses on the interdisciplinary field of discard studies and the category of material culture known generically as “garbage.” She’s interested in the many forms of labor and infrastructure that waste requires, the spatial demands it imposes on urban areas, the organizational responses it inspires, and the cultural practices and attitudes that adhere to it. Her book Picking Up, an ethnography of the DSNY, includes accounts of her time on the job as a sanitation worker. More about Maggie: Maggie Lee leads the Sanitation Foundation’s cultural programs and museum planning work, creating exhibits and developing partnerships that explore the vital role of DSNY in the past, present, and future of New York City. She also serves as DSNY’s Records Management Officer, developing the agency’s records retention policy and working with the Municipal Archives and Municipal Library to identify documents of enduring value. Maggie holds an MA in Archives & Public History and a BFA in Film & Television Production, both from NYU. *30% of proceeds from tickets sold for ALL of our workshops are donated to the Sanitation Foundation. Check out our website and follow us on Instagram at @zerowastenycworkshop