The moment we throw away our waste, it is no longer waste but a valuable raw material for the waste processing companies. We, consumers are an important part of collecting and separating these materials. Without our, free, labor, waste would be difficult to be a profitable trade. Many of these commodities are traded on the world market. In January 2018 China closed its borders for waste plastic from Europe. They no longer needed this raw material because they produce enough waste plastic for their own needs.
In 2014, I tried to map out in assigement for the Amsterdam’s City archives what is happening in my city around the processing of my waste.