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Waste used to be something of the past, a part of life turned to dust and ash. For
much of the 19th Century, dust and ash was all that went into the domestic dust bin.
Everything else was separated and recycled one way or another. Even shit – politely
known as ‘night soil’ – was taken out along with organic wastes to fertilise fields. Or at
least some of it was. The rest was thrown into the streets where waste pickers competed
with dogs, pigs and crows for anything of value.
