Disposability and Dispossession in the Twentieth Century

This article addresses the issue of disposability in modern Anglo-American society, through a historical and archaeological perspective of late 19th- and 20th-century practices surrounding waste. Starting from what is identified as a dilemma in disposability, caught between two moral systems of the household - thrift and hygiene - this article discusses these systems in terms of waste and the activities surrounding it. Through examination of various practices and drawing on several examples and case studies, it is argued that the issue of disposability is intimately linked to consumption, specifically through the problem of inalienability and its effect on dispossession or the shedding off of domestic and personal objects.