In this very original book, Gay Hawkins explores the ethical significance of waste in everyday life - from the broadest conceptions of waste and loss to how the environmental movement has affected the ways we think about garbage, the ways we deal with it, and the ways in which we view others' reactions to waste. Do we feel virtuous for reusing plastic bags? Do we withdraw from those who toss out aluminium cans? At what point does personal waste become public responsibility?