Like other senior citizens on the list, I remember the burn barrels. We had
an incinerator built of loose cement blocks, which we cleaned occasionally.
Then the town started picking up trash, and discovered that landfills were
a problem. The town replied by segregating "garbage" and "trash" that were
picked up on different days. The trash went to the old city incinerator and
the garbage was buried. This was before recycling. That was yet another
episode of change, all within the past half century.

A few years ago I dug in a backyard where the burn barrel was still in use.
The yard was full of little holes full of burned trash. The house also had
a working outhouse, its many former locations marked by shallow pits. The
archaeological picture on the site was pretty grim and we gave up.

I recite these anecdotes to emphasize the importance of documenting and
understanding recent local trash-disposal history. Once in a while, I sneak
some trash-burning into my large masonry barbecue pit, but please don't
tell the local authorities.

Ned Heite  ([log in to unmask])
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A waist is a terrible thing to mind
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