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Welcome to Deep Dives and Drafts! If you're new, please check out our group page to learn more about us here. Also note this time we are meeting on a Tuesday.

After our summer hiatus it is time to get back into things! Special shout out to Vivian for suggesting this fun topic...
this MeetUp, let's grab a pint and pull back the lid on discard studies, the reality of recycling, and where our trash actually goes.

Some themes we might explore:

  • The "Chasing Arrows" Illusion: How much of curbside recycling is legitimate material recovery?
  • The Global Waste Trade: What happened after East Asian countries banned foreign plastic imports, and how did Western waste streams adapt?
  • Upstream Solutions: Can circular design, bottle bills, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws solve what consumer guilt never could?
  • Garbology & Cultural Discards: What does our collective waste say about our values, planned obsolescence, and the hidden labor keeping cities clean?

Resources to spark conversation (feel free to suggest!!):

  • Books:
  • Total Garbage by Edward Humes (Audiobook available) *Thanks viv!
  • Wasteland: The Secret World of Waste and the Urgent Search for a Cleaner Future by Oliver Franklin-Wallis
  • Plastic: A Toxic Love Story by Susan Freinkel

Watch:

Listen:

  • Throughline (NPR): "The Litter Myth"
  • Planet Money (NPR): "So, Should We Stop Recycling?"

How does this group work?
Each month we will select a topic to explore. Participants use the list of books, podcasts, documentaries to learn about the topic prior to the MeetUp- this resource list is non-exhaustive but provides a solid foundation for discourse. At the MeetUp, we chat for an hour or two about anything we learned. Our aim is to foster intellectual engagement, thoughtful dialogue, and collective learning.
Meetups will be in public spaces (bars) where folks can order beverages if they wish.

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