6 The Ecological Life of Industrial Waste

Abstract

The post‐depositional afterlife of an archaeological site is often viewed as the least important aspect of its history and outside of traditional archaeological interest. In the case of industrial sites, this elision ignores one of the most important aspects of industrial history, namely the long‐term effects of toxic waste. In an era where industrial pollution and anthropogenic climate change are rapidly changing the future of life on this planet, the stakes of understanding the effects of industrial waste are vital. This article outlines a reflexive, ecologically focused archaeology that interrogates the afterlives of industrial waste, not as a method to get back to the history of production, but as a means for taking seriously these afterlives as a defining characteristic of life in the Anthropocene. Using the concept of the ecological lives of industrial waste to explore the (post)industrial history of Mill Creek Ravine—a historically important industrial area in Edmonton, Alberta— this article argues that the decomposition of industrial waste serves as both a medium for long‐term harms, as well as the locus for emergent relations and critical investigation.

1 Exploring the Contemporary in Old Places

“…Indeed, excavation remains an incredibly valuable methodology in contemporary archaeologies. Stewart ([2022] this volume, Chapter 6) demonstrates how excavation can literally uncover the ways in which material consumption, ecology, and health become entwined in the soils of post‐industrial landscapes.…”

“…Spread across the globe, each of the case studies in this volume shares some history of colonial and capitalist systems that forever shaped the landscape and the populations who lived on them. Industrial residues live on in sediment and rich vegetation (Stewart [2022] this volume, Chapter 6), former plantation landscapes now appear empty and primed for development (Sesma [2022] this volume, Chapter 2), and lively Black and Latinx townsites are disappeared under commercial parks (Wilkinson [2022] this volume, Chapter 5). Contemporary archaeological engagement in the old places discussed here not only breathes life into their ongoing stories, but works to counter the colonial‐extractive projects that would have us see only empty, unoccupied, or decaying landscapes.…”

“…Stewart ([2022] Chapter 6) challenges the notion of site abandonment by following the afterlife of early twentieth‐century industrial waste at Mill Creek Ravine in Edmonton, Alberta. The durable and toxic material residues of industrial capitalism shape the conditions of life there today and are characteristic of the Anthropocene that we inhabit.…”

“…Site formation, in addition to deep histories of spatial and material transformations, also incorporates contemporary land use and ecological processes, and, not to be forgotten, archaeological intervention. Each author in this volume extends archaeological analysis of an old place into the contemporary moment in order to reflect on evolving relationships between people and place and respond to contemporary issues with deep historical roots: urban planning and community dislocation and relocation (Chapters 5 [Wilkinson 2022] and 7 [Danis 2022]), contemporary manifestations of historical trauma (Chapter 4 [Two Bears 2022]), the afterlife of industrial toxicity (Chapter 6 [Stewart 2022]), meritocracy in heritage activism (Chapter 8 [Lorenc 2022]), place‐making at the margins (Chapters 2 [Sesma 2022] and 3 [Oliver and Cox 2022]), and community responses to gentrification and tourism development (Chapter 9 [Taylor 2022]). Authors demonstrate how the material traces of the past accompany, constrain, and open possibilities for people today.…”

Optimizing Hybrid Power for Manpura Island: A Case Study in Bangladesh

“…Animal feces are made up of a wide array of components, some of which are water, others are burned rubbish, and organic detritus that has decomposed [9]. In environments with low oxygen levels, carbon dioxide and other naturally occurring chemicals become more flexible and exert less of an impact.…”