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Vendor
C.H.BECK
Anna-Sophia Mäder
Original language
German

Müll

Roman Köster

A dirty history of humanity

The first global history of rubbish Human beings have had a long and intimate relationship with rubbish. Even the Neanderthals deemed certain things to be useless, rejected them and threw them away. Ancient Rome was plagued by a litter problem, as were the metropolises of the 19th century. But this all pales into insignificance compared with the mountains of rubbish we generate today. Roman Köster has written an enlightening history of our species, centred around our production of and approach to waste. This book is the first thoroughly researched dirty history of humanity.

In premodern times, waste was foremost a practical problem. It lay around, smelled bad and got in the way of people and vehicles. The rapid worldwide urban growth of the late 18th century went hand in hand with an increased awareness of the hygiene problems caused by waste, and the way these problems facilitated the spread of typhus and cholera. Now, however, rubbish is no longer just a question of urban cleanliness but a global environmental problem. In his global history of rubbish from early history to the present day, Roman Köster explores the causes of these developments and shows how the way we throw things away, dispose of them and recycle them has changed over the course of history.

• ‘Rubbish is our only growing resource.’ Hollis Dole, Undersecretary of State at the US Department of the Interior, 1969

• Human beings have always thrown things away

• Living with rubbish – from the time when nomadic populations became sedentary, to the present day

• How our approach to rubbish has shaped the face of our villages and towns – and the lives of their inhabitants

• A history of throwing away, disposing and recycling

• From the litter problems of ancient cities to the rubbish mountains of the present day

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Book

28.00 EUR

Published 2023-10-12T08:17:16.968Z by C.H.Beck , ISBN: 9783406805806

ISBN: 9783406805806