Taking Waste Seriously

Over the years I've developed a ritual whenever I head home after a convention. I sort out all the press releases, brochures, handouts, and assorted tchotchkes I've been given or collected in the course of the meeting — generally leaving behind a sizable pile of trash in my hotel room as a result. I am no doubt one of tens of thousands of attendees who do this sort of post-convention shedding. But attendee trash like this is just the tip of the rubbish pile, so to speak, when it comes to