William Rathje and the studies of garbage

Abstract

The article describes the beginnings, stages and development of the Garbage Project directed by archaeologist William Rathje at the University of Arizona. It exposes the main technical and methodological activities that were constructed in this collective project, as well as its results after studying rubbish in different cities in the United States and Mexico. The main argument of the article claims that the influence of the Garbage Project in Mexico can be seen in the current scientific interest in studying the waste of the metropolises in our country. The text is also a tribute to one of the most creative social scientists of the 20th century: William Rathje, founder of garbology.