20th July 2025
I love our local dump. I’m not quite sure why it tickles my joy but perhaps the reasoning circles around the simplicity of the experience; purposefulness executed without fuss. People arrive, accompanied by their unwanted items, sorting through to determine which can live again with a grateful owner, be transformed or simply put to sleep in landfill. A good waste dump channels motive and civility. Sublimity in the trash world.
I haven’t intended to write a whole post about my local waste dump and clearly I’m being a little ridiculous. But my angle is this. I have a curiosity about waste and how often it has been mis-judged and maligned in many spheres of life only to be re-appraised as something quite valuable.
It is a little unfair to be so judgemental about waste. What is waste is usually conceived in the eye of the beholder and context matters. Generally we consider something as trash If it has no purpose or usefulness. Waste can also be non physical – more broadly termed as inefficiency and even more nebulous to define. But there have been significant instances in which we have been compelled to re-evaluate our perceptions. And prising our minds open to new possibilities is no bad thing as we’ll see.
The human body is a fascinating case in point
Decades ago, c99% of our DNA was thought to be without purpose – an evolutionary flash back. Why? Because removal of any of said DNA manifested in no discernible change to our functions. This DNA garnered the term Junk. We originally believed only the 1%, the protein coding genes (genes are a segment of DNA) had value. This is because proteins carry out the instructions of our DNA and are involved in every biological process in the body from structuring our cells, to signalling activity to attacking hostiles. The list is long. Proteins are made through a process called Gene expression which involves DNA, RNA, MRNA and amino acids. Fast forward and advances in technology have enabled a deeper understanding of our composition at the genetic level. Now we are of the opinion this Junk should be credited with multiple useful applications because although Junk DNA does not produce proteins, it is far from benign,
Junk DNA is known to contain genes and elements which help to regulate other genes. For example controlling when they are turned on and off, helping to ensure levels of expression are appropriate and maintaining the structure, stability and sequence of the chromosomes (an organised collection of DNA). It’s an essential in securing our well being. This waste is literally life saving.
For many years our gut microbiome was thought to be benevolent but useless until advances in genomics transformed our knowledge. Today it is considered vital to maintaining strong physical health and research indicates mental health too (this is a post I wrote about the microbiome https://curiosityandtherascal.co.uk/2021/11/25/parasites-and-us/). The appendix was presumed a remnant from evolution and hence without modern purpose. However in conjunction with the microbiome it is thought to train the immune system and furthermore the appendix has been found to re-populate the microbiome with healthy microbes post illness.
I love happy accidents. There is something about the unexpected and an opportune ending being humbling and waste has been in that accidental tangle many times. The discovery of Penicillin was a mishap. Alexander Fleming was studying a bacteria and returning after a period away noted his petri dishes of these bacteria were contaminated with a type of mould. Ready to discard these dishes as rubbish he observed the mould had destroyed bacteria it was in contact with. Further research produced a substance which killed many harmful bacteria and in later years was mass produced as Penicillin – the first antibiotic, treating disease and infection, saving millions of lives.
In 1968 Dr Spencer Silver a scientist at 3M was aiming to develop a strong adhesive. Instead he created one which was weak but re-usable. That is, it would stick lightly but could be removed without leaving residue as other glues did. At the time Silver could not foresee its application and it was considered a failed project. Fast forward and we meet Art Fry who also worked at 3M and was frustrated as his book marks kept falling out of his hymn books when he was singing in church. Recollecting the adhesive Silver had invented, together through refinement the Post it Note was borne in 1980, since when it has become ubiquitous.
These last examples remind me we shouldn’t underestimate the power of luck and right time right place even with the magic of technology. In 1799, without an engineer in Napoleon’s army noticing the inscriptions on the Rosetta stone and intervening, it would have been discarded to the rubble heap as a slab of rock by those who uncovered it. He had no cause to appreciate its value, but he did. Jump ahead and we now attribute the stone as the key to have deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs spurring an extensive understanding of ancient Egypt.
There are many other examples of discoveries and items overlooked or thought pointless until they were not. Graphene, Cosmic microwave radiation, dung beetles, leeches to name a few I’ve read about. But I’d like to end on time as waste. Here I’m mulling the day dreaming or the laying about we all enjoy. Yes, it can seem wasteful. But it can also release creativity, create calm, help us resolve problems or genuinely allow us to rest. All of these valuable and not to be consigned to the waste dump.
I’m conscious I’ve written a list about how waste is not always waste. What I’m suggesting is being open to the possibilities in the discarded, the irrelevant. Don’t always follow the crowd and you might be rewarded with insight, knowledge or satisfaction.
Also the next time you want to feel joy – visit your local dump.
Curiosity and the rascal 