This story was created as part of our work with the Royal Highland Education Trust. It is a continuation of our Future Archaelogies theme. It is inspired by the enormous number of old tyres there are, stashed in various places throughout the country. It has a strong link to farming and the land, and is Read More…
Waste Stories Blog
The lost – and last – blueberry crop
Peter Thompson is a soft fruit farmer in Blairgowrie. Approximately 80% of his business is in blueberry production, with the remaining 20% in cherries. This year Peter did not harvest his blueberry crop. Spiraling costs and cheaper imports from Peru and South Africa meant that picking the crop would cost Peter far more money than Read More…
Rubbish reflections
On the Thursday 18th August 2022, refuse collection workers in Edinburgh started strike action as negotiations over pay and conditions failed. They were joined by their colleagues in other Scottish local authorities at various points over the next few days, including Glasgow (where strike action began on Wednesday 24th). The Edinburgh strike in particular gained Read More…
Small hands, close to the ground
The story below reflects the way in which two projects I’m currently working on – Waste Stories and a project called Water and Fire – have begun to combine in my mind. Water and Fire is a collaboration between the Universities of Stirling and Glasgow in the UK with the Universities of Cape Town and Read More…
“Vorsprung durch Technik”
I found the detonator at the side of the road to Sandhead, on the Rhinns of Galloway. It had been run over, possibly by one of the big, heavy trucks transporting grass to the farms for silage, but its wires were still attached and some of the inner wadding material was poking out of one Read More…
Nurdelology: a future archaeology of the plastics age
Earlier this year, we started working with the fantastic folk at the Solway Firth Partnership (SFP). This is part of a strand of Waste Stories dedicated to waste in our seas and along our coasts; we’ll add a new section to this site explaining more about this work soon. In March, I went to Port Read More…
Sic transit gloria
I know I will get accused of being a spoilsport, but: can we please ban foiletti – and their cousins, metallic party balloons? Governments in the UK have recently moved to ban “single use” plastics. The Scottish Government has positionined itself as leading the way in this respect. As part of the fanfare surrounding Read More…
Spilt milk
There is no point crying over spilt milk. A saying, that until last week I would have wholeheartedly agreed, with only one exception: breastmilk. In my experience there are often several very good reasons to cry if you spill breastmilk. The first being the misery of having spent an hour pumping to get a measly Read More…
The Patient Bride
Waste Stories was recently approached by Bruno Noriega, a fourth-year Film and Media student at the University of Stirling and friend of Phoebe and Marvin. He wanted to know a bit more about the project and to use it as a focus for a photojournalism assignment. Last Saturday, George and I went for a walk Read More…
A Feast of Souls
Night falls. The last light fades from the sky. The white of the snow, the bright red and glossy green of the holly: all turn to grey. Inside, Julia shivers and pulls the curtains tight. Marguerite wimpers in the corner. “Shhh! You must keep quiet, especially now. Dusk is the most dangerous time.” “But Read More…
