White Trail

Trash Dump

On the White Trail, the old farm landfill is on your left after about 50 feet.

Our Legacy

Inevitably, man marks his dwelling places with trash dumps. Here alongside the trail are rusty cans, broken bottles, pottery fragments, machinery parts, and other discards - from the farm, but also from the University of Virginia (both school and hospital) and the Monticello Hotel. Conly Greer would arise early in the morning to haul trash from Charlottesville to make extra money.  Frost heave and erosion continue to unearth that which was buried long ago.

Note what is and is not in this landfill. There are no plastics as this dump pre-dates their use. All items readily biodegradable are long gone. The metal items are in the process of decaying but may take another fifty years or so to disappear. The glass and pottery, on the other hand, look untouched. One can only speculate how long it will take for them to decompose. Some say a million years or more.

About 75% of municipal solid waste is recyclable, yet only about 35% of it gets recycled. This spot is a reminder to REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE.

Next: Web of Life