Trash Talk

I interviewed a fellow student, Connor, who has held sanitation-related jobs both inside and outside of UNM. He currently works in sanitation at the SUB and has an interesting and complicated relationship with trash: he disposes of it for work, redeems it for cash when he can and makes crafts out of it in his spare time.


1.Could you briefly describe what your duties in
sanitation entail?

I take out trash, vacuum, mop, and do other odd jobs like cleaning windows and such. I rarely clean bathrooms.

2. Has doing sanitation work changed how you look at
trash/garbage? How you look at UNM as institution?

I definitely think it has changed my perspective. I worked as an usher at the Cottonwood movie theater several years ago, which primarily consisted of cleaning the theaters. I definitely take janitorial jobs much more seriously. I think UNM is an institution which holds janitors in high esteem. Cleanliness seems very important here. So much trash is thrown out, and what is interesting is the value of all of it. The containers people throw away may cost at least a dime a piece. The Sonic and Chick Fil A bags probably cost 5 cents. It shocked me a bit to realize that those items have a very short lifespan. They're made, then used for only minutes to carry food, then they're thrown out.

3. Do you have any interesting experiences related to
working in sanitation? Did anything surprise you? Did you learn anything new?

The SUB is occasionally refuge to homeless people. They seem very appreciative of the work I do. It surprises me how much trash is thrown out at the SUB every day. I learned how to clean things,obviously. But that's still important I guess. When I cleaned the movie theater, I found a condom wrapper. I also remember a kid peed in a cup! To make that situation more odd, a guy who saw it stuck around, told us, and waited until we cleaned it up to talk about it with us. It was very strange. I haven't found anything like that at UNM; people are a bit classier.

4. What do you think makes something "trash"? Is there a
concrete definition? Is it up to interpretation?

"Trash" seems to be something that is not of desire or use. It is a very vague and abstract term, sort of like the word 'race.' We understand races, but what do they consist of? What makes a certain group of people a 'race?' It's surprising, but trash holds a different meaning with everybody. "One man's trash is another man's treasure." I now collect the thrown-away cans from trash in the SUB. Most people don't value the worth of aluminum at all, but I make money off of them.

5. How do you think art relates to trash, if at all?

Art definitely relates to trash! There are so many recycled arts and crafts out there. For example, I make candy wrapper bags. Also, art seems to be "trash" of the academic world. It isn't valued, although it has a lot of value in itself.