Merriam-Webster defines waste as “refuse from places of human or animal habitation.” The World Book Dictionary defines waste as “useless or worthless material; stuff to be thrown away.” Both definitions do not recognize waste as a resource.

Zero Waste America defines waste as “a resource that is not safely recycled back into the environment or the marketplace.”


The word 'waste' and the act of 'wasting' are human inventions. Waste doesn't exist in nature. In nature, everything has a purpose. Waste was created by humans for short-term convenience and short-term profit. Wasting results in long-term harmful consequences for both humans, nature, and the economy.

After arrival at the dumpster we received a message from Rolando Ember “I don't know what you are talking about!!!” and a note that Rolando Ember had declined our inventory offer. (we had sent him the decay script and asked him to please return to the dumpster and attach the decay script to the 10 beer bottles he had left there a while ago)
Since he had responded, we asked him again to return and sent him the dumpster landmark. Within a second he showed up.

[12:24] You: hi
[12:24] Rolando Ember: oh shit, hah. i remember this place now
[12:24] You: yeah..
[12:24] Rolando Ember: i was so confused. its been a long time since ive been here. i came here once, like 3 months ago.

[12:24] You: I found some of your beer bottles
[12:24] Rolando Ember: where?
[12:25] You: here. I'll give you the decay script


We walk to the beer bottles where Rolando immediately starts deleting them.

[12:26] You: hold on, don't delete
[12:26] Rolando Ember: why? i thought thats what you wanted
[12:26] You: no. there are only two more left… try the script on them…
[12:26] Rolando Ember: decayvers2.3?
[12:27] You: yes. just drag it onto the two remaining bottles
[12:28] Rolando Ember: not letting me put it in the bottle
[12:28] You: mhhh. may be you can not modify the object?
[12:29] Rolando Ember: nope. i cant
[12:29] You: mh… sorry, then you have to delete them
[12:29] Rolando Ember: theyre gone. not a big deal
[12:30] You: well…
[12:30] Rolando Ember: i thought things got deleted automatically here
[12:30] You: you left a red bull can as well
[12:30] Rolando Ember: jeez
[12:30] You: looked like you had a little party [12:30] Rolando Ember: youre just out to get me arent you?
[12:30] Rolando Ember:
[12:30] You: not you, just your trash
[12:30] Rolando Ember: ha
[12:31] You: here I show you the can
[12:32] Rolando Ember: so do you have to go around to every little thing that doesn’t have decay script in it and find the person?
[12:32] You: yes
[12:32] Rolando Ember: damn. that sucks
[12:33] You: there are worse things…
[12:33] Rolando Ember: what’s the point of having the place then? Doesn’t seem like much fun. and i dont think everyone would be as nice as me and come back and get rid of their junk
[12:33] You: you'd be surprised. Most people are really nice and come back
[12:33] Rolando Ember: ah, well thats cool
[12:33] You: see
[12:33] Rolando Ember: i dont mind. i was more curious as to see what this was. a friend brought me here once.
[12:34] You: what did you think at the time?
[12:34] Rolando Ember: no clue. i thought you were crazy
[12:34] You: oh. … and now?
[12:35] Rolando Ember: still crazy, only because you have to keep this place ship shape
[12:35] Rolando Ember:
[12:35] You: ship shape?
[12:35] Rolando Ember: clean
[12:35] You: btw… it's interesting to see what people throw out
[12:36] Rolando Ember: thats true. thats why my friend was here. she thought it was dumpster diving, like the ones you get free stuff from. where did the idea of this place come from?
[12:39] You: Did you never wonder what happens to the stuff, once you put them into your trash bin and hit delete?
[12:39] Rolando Ember: kinda. i thought it just disappeared
[12:39] You: but what does that mean…“just disappeared”… that's what I wonder
[12:40] Rolando Ember: well this is a different concept. this is people dropping their crap off
[12:41] You: true… but what is crap in SL?
[12:41] Rolando Ember: anything i don’t want in my inventory is crap
[12:41] You: and when does it become crap? When it's broken, or when it's spoiled…?
[12:42] Rolando Ember: when i dont want it
[12:42] You: and how do you decide what you want in your inventory and what not…based on what?
[12:43] Rolando Ember: amount of time used
[12:43] You: after what time do you throw out?
[12:43] Rolando Ember: when i look at the thing and remember that i had it before. You ask a lot of questions.
[12:43] You: sorry about the questions…But see, that's interesting, because to me… all the stuff in here is on the same level
[12:44] Rolando Ember: how so?
[12:44] You: I don't want this or that shirt, this car or that boat because it does not really seem to matter. It’s just another item in your inventory.
[12:44] Rolando Ember: i dont think all things are on the same level
[12:45] You: ok, what's the difference between a pet wolf and a pet dolphin, or a pet butterfly?
[12:46] Rolando Ember: its obvious they’re all different animals/bugs, but what i would hold in higher regard is the one that took a person longer to make
[12:47] You: oh… so a bug with 200 legs for example is a more valuable animal than a dolphin that consists of let's say 3 prims only?
[12:47] Rolando Ember: i would say so, but to each their own right.
[12:48] You: see, that's interesting values to me…
[12:48] Rolando Ember: i look at things on here as art. very rarely do I enjoy a piece of art that took 2 minutes to make compared to a piece that took a week
[12:49] You: ok… and you categorize them depending on their craftsmanship and labor?
[12:49] Rolando Ember: most of the time yes
[12:50] You: mmhh…I am just trying to figure out what this whole world is about
[12:50] Rolando Ember: i noticed :)
[12:50] You: and on what level it operates. I get stuck a lot and in the end, it’s just a relief that I can clean up this dump and make space for new stuff. How do you spend most of your time?
[12:52] Rolando Ember: either at my military base or exploring. I don’t take this seriously at all
[12:52] You: what's the military base?
[12:52] Rolando Ember: im part of a military on here. i just like to shoot
[12:53] You: can you destroy?
[12:53] Rolando Ember: its more like playing a video game to me than human interaction. of course i can destroy, hah
[12:53] You: can you shoot some of these boxes away?
[12:53] Rolando Ember: oh no no. not like that
[12:53] You: too bad…I would appreciate a good clean up here
[12:54] Rolando Ember: shouldn’t your sim have auto parcel return or something like that?
[12:54] You: yes, it does, but that's not the point…
[12:54] Rolando Ember: well then why wouldn’t u just use that if you would let me shoot the boxes away?
[12:55] You: because “auto return” is boring. I like avatar-action. Otherwise, I could also let my computer play this whole game by itself.
[12:56] Rolando Ember: phone call…sorry
[12:56] You: np
[12:57] Rolando Ember: is this all you do on here?
[12:57] You: what?
[12:57] Rolando Ember: tend to the dumpster
[12:57] You: yes, mostly. sometimes I go to freebie places and get some more trash
[12:58] Rolando Ember: what’s the fascination with trash?
[12:58] You: that it does not look like trash. that it always looks brand new, never looks used or worn-out. that's why I asked you earlier how you decide what's trash and what not. I can not get over that…
[12:59] Rolando Ember: why can you not get over it? It’s really not that deep.
[13:00] You: I know…it’s so simple that I sometimes fear, it might be too simple… Anyway…can you shoot at something?
[13:00] Rolando Ember: sure
[13:00] You: I would like to see what happens
[13:01] Rolando Ember: nothing will really happen unless were in a damage enabled sim
[13:01] You: hmm
[13:02] Rolando Ember: see, doesn’t hurt you
[13:02] You: You shot me?

Rolando aims and seems to shoot again at Susi. Susi does not feel any impact.

[13:02] Rolando Ember: sorta. like i said, it doesn't do anything
[13:03] You: what kind of military are you in?
[13:03] Rolando Ember: army
[13:03] You: is there a nation to protect?
[13:03] Rolando Ember: we have our sim to protect if another military tries to invade
[13:03] You: are other's trying?
[13:04] Rolando Ember: not at the moment
[13:04] You: what can you loose?
[13:04] Rolando Ember: in the end, nothing can happen other than the opposing military getting into our base
[13:05] You: and then? when they are there, what can they do to you or your property?
[13:05] Rolando Ember: they can shoot us
[13:05] You: but can you die?
[13:05] Rolando Ember: when you get shot in a damage enabled sim, it sends you back to your homepoint
[13:06] You: ah.. so you have to start from the beginning again
[13:06] Rolando Ember: from my homepoint yes
[13:06] You: what's the name of your army?
[13:06] Rolando Ember: pan slavya coalition
[13:07] You: an the scratches on your face… did you buy them in a military fashion store?
[13:07] Rolando Ember: no, a friend made them

[13:08] You: hey…I have to go…it was really nice talking to you. Thanks for all the answers…may be some day I'll get it…
[13:08] Rolando Ember: eh, there’s really nothing to get. It’s just a game
[13:09] You: are you sure?
[13:09] Rolando Ember: positive! It is what you make of it
[13:09] You: ok…then bring back some trash sometime and attach the decay script, so the stuff can rot, ok?!
[13:09] Rolando Ember: hah, will do
[13:09] Rolando Ember: :)
[13:09] You: thanks and see you

On page 97 of the book we are currently reading it says the following:

<hi #6495ed>In the 1930's, Richardson Wright, editor of “House and Garden”, advised:

</hi>

<hi #6495ed>Saving and thrift would be the worst sort of citizenship today….. To maintain prosperity we must keep the machines working, for when machines are functioning men can labor and earn wages. The good citizen does not repair the old; he buys anew. The shoes that crack are to be thrown away. Don't patch them. When the car gets crotchety, haul it to the town's dump. Give to the ashman's oblivion the leaky pot, the broken umbrella, the clock that doesn't tick….To maintain prosperity we must keep those machines going. Always we must be prepared to consume their enormous production.</hi>

After arrival we recceived the following IM:

[20:18] Jager Xeltentat: (Saved Tue Aug 5 05:14:29 2008) Alright. I returned and put the decay script in it.

We walked to the Sw corner of the lot, where Jager had left his trash and took pictures of it.

A magic wand, that glowed and sparkled

A snowman

Then we sent another IM to Jager:

[20:22] Jager, great, thanks a lot! If you ever have time… there is also a tiny little house and a cup under the snowman, that don't have the decay script yet…thanks…:)

Afterward we walked back to the NE corner of the lot and looked at the two red airplanes that had crashed right into the landing place at the dumpster. Or were there three? No pilot was insight, nor was the decay script attached, but someone had gone through the trouble of rotating them, before they hit the ground. We sent a message to the owner, Issac Skomorokl, of the airplanes:

[21:04] Susi Vacano: HELLO Issac, greetings from the SL Dumpster. Looks like you trashed some planes, but forgot to attach the decay script. Could you come back and do so? Thanks, Susi P.S. I'll attach a Notecard on how to do it… We received the following auto reply:

[21:04] Second Life: User not online - message will be stored and delivered later.

Then we kept walking around looking for other changes. Jolly Wisent had been back and attached the deay script to all her trash, even the little pieces that were scattered all over the place.

Jolly Wisent's hat

Jolly Wisent's butterfly wings

Jolly Wisent's sexy bikini box

Came back and documented how the decay script had deformed certain trash objects within more or less one day.

The crown of Jolly Wisent's hat had flattened itself into a pretty thin piece.

All the wings Jolly Wisent had infected with the decay script had almost become single winged. While one wing shrunk continuously, the other stayed intact.

In Jager's trash corner the magic wand was already gone, while the snowman lived the last moments of his second life. We asked him, if decaying felt like melting to him, but since he did not have a mouth to answer, he remained silent.

Jager Xeltentat had been back and left some more trash. Each item included the decay script. We checked Jager's profile. It said this:

I'm not very social.
Don't add me as a friend just to boost your imaginary popularity status. I'm not interested in relationships either-be it serious or SL only.
I'm mainly in SL to explore and play with weapons.

Judging from the way he handled trash, Jager seemed to be a nice guy. Every new item he left on the dump was infected with the decay script.

Jager's ROLLS COUPE GOLD

Sellable Biscuit Boy Card, front view

Sellable Biscuit Boy Card, back view
Jager Xeltentat had not only dumped those cards, but also created them.

Jager's Pipe Cactus plant

Another reliable trasher had been back and left a slowly moving blue colored castoff in the NE corner of the dump. As far as we remember, Corcosman Voom had used the dumpster a couple of times before.

Corcosman's dancy junk, created by Corcosman Voom, decay script attached.

Roxie Sigal had discarded some boxes full of clothing in the middle of the dumpster. Unfortunately it was not possible to try on any of those clothes, but the decay script was attached to each of the boxes.

Today was the first time that an avatar was dumped on the dumpster. Not a real avatar, but something that looked exactly like an avatar, like the casual default male avatar.


Jager Xeltentat had dropped 2 versions of the same avatar, one small and one tall. The tall one was called GIANT-NOOB, which is the term used for a beginner or “newbie” in secondlife. At the time we arrived at the dumpster, both had already begun to decay along one leg.

keep reading → September 2008