Author Archives: Sheldon Norris

Conceptualizing waste

An Object that I see often is the Plastic utensil, the one I will be using to day is a plastic fork. The fork is supposed to be single use and it is shown by not only the material it is made out of that is a brittle and flimsy plastic. The waste can be seen as an archive on a way how we eat and how we eat food now as this object is for eating on the go and one can assume when eating with a plastic fork it is for less fancy foods like meals stored in plastic containers for on the go eating. The waste is out of place due to being on the ground and not with a meal. It is also a commodity for the way we eat our meals for without it the meals would be messy. It is also a fetish for disorder as it is used as a sign of dignified eating but they seem to be found everywhere they are not “supposed” to be. Out of the readings I learned that an object as simple as a plastic fork can have a lot more behind it from its creation to what it is supposed to be used for and the amount of effort is put into this way of eating and after we are done with the fork we just dispose of it. The Amount of effort put into making shipping and selling into these forks just for them to be thrown away after one meal. This reading helped me digest the thought that our waste was important before being used.

Distancing Infrastructures (restaurants)

A place I saw that had Distancing Infrastructure was a sort of local restaurant called bubs Barbecue, A traditional BBQ place from 1979 and still had Trinkets and news clippings from that time. What showed the Distancing Infrastructure was the Trash being towards the side exit and is only noticable when you are leaving from the Side entrance/exit. The design of this is intentional as it is far away from the tables and farthest away from the food being served, This design is shared by many restaurants and is similar how the Bathrooms are treated as well. Most of this is designed this way for fear of contamination as I trained in culinary school in Cambridge and learned all about it. The Distancing Isolates the waste product towards the exit for easy disposability whether at the back, front or side entrance/exit. Distancing also effects contaminated products like food that has touched a floor or fallen off a chopping board. Contamination drives most of the way waste is treated in restaurants because if they don’t the restaurant could be shut down.