Trash! : a garbageman's story / Simon Paré-Poupart ; translated from the French by Pablo Strauss.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Paré-Poupart, Simon, author.

Contributor:

Strauss, Pablo, translator.

Standardized Title:

Ordures. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Montréal (Québec)--Social conditions.

Montréal (Québec).

Paré-Poupart, Simon.

Sanitation workers--Québec (Province)--Montréal--Biography.

Sanitation workers.

Refuse and refuse disposal--Social aspects.

Refuse and refuse disposal.

Consumption (Economics)--Social aspects.

Consumption (Economics).

Waste products--Environmental aspects.

Waste products.

Genre:

Memoirs.

Biographies.

Physical Description:

181 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm

illustration

Place of Publication:

Brooklyn : Melville House, 2026.

Language Note:

Translated from the French.

Summary:

In this candid and darkly humorous memoir, a Montreal garbageman shares his experiences working in waste management for more than twenty years. Blending personal stories with sharp social commentary, he offers an eye-opening look at the demanding, dangerous, and often overlooked work of keeping cities clean. Drawing on his background in sociology, the author explores society's relationship with waste, consumer culture, and the people who handle what others throw away. Filled with vivid anecdotes, reflections on sustainable living, and insights into the culture of sanitation workers, this memoir challenges readers to think differently about garbage, labor, and modern life.

"This fascinating no-bullshit account of twenty years in waste management paints a vivid portrait of the heroic labor, anarchic spirit, and violent conditions of the people who keep our cities clean. Paré-Poupart's story is atypical: he started working as a garbageman to pay for college, yet even after earning graduate degrees in sociology and business, and working in more 'respectable' fields, he is still on a truck--out of love for the physical rush, for his rough-and-tumble colleagues, and for an honesty and freedom that no other job has yet given him. His sociology background informs his inquiry into our collective failure to confront the trash we produce. Every observation comes with hilarious and hair-raising stories from the collection route"-- Back cover.

Contents:

A life in garbage

Part I: Becoming a garbageman. Baptism by swearing

Be a man!

Nighttime

Kids love trucks

Garbage doesn't lie (I)

Breaking the rules

Part II: Throwing trash. Garbage doesn't lie (II)

Garbage doesn't lie (III)

Recycling

Abolish winter!

Heat wave

See Lorraine and die

Garbage doesn't lie (IV)

Garbagemen and sanitation workers

A passion for garbage

Freeganism

Garbage doesn't lie (V).

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-181).

Contains:

Translation of: Paré-Poupart, Simon. Ordures. English.

Other Format:

Ebook version :

ISBN:

1685892493

9781685892494

OCLC:

1538480889