The problem of the relationship between man and his waste has existed since time immemorial. This book tells what adventures and vicissitudes awaited those who deal with household waste, and tells about their successes and hardships. Here is evidence of human efforts to free ourselves from the remains of life, a reminder of how much imagination and ingenuity has been shown to extract from all this useful resources and use them, whether in rich, poor or developing countries. Garbage kills, threatens to devour entire cities, changes the urban landscape, heats and illuminates homes, ensures the survival of millions of those offended by fate, creates all kinds of “small industries”, fattens herds of pigs, plays with children, provides a deceptive, but still way out of loneliness for prisoners , serve as a source of inspiration for madmen and artists, and even the basis of festive spectacles. Catherine de Silguy is a prominent environmentalist.