There’s an excellent book on the topic of Garbage:
http://www.amazon.com/Rubbish-Archaeology-Garbage-William-Rathje/dp/0816521433
I’ve met Dr. Rathje on a few occasions, and have had some fascinating discussions about trash. This guy knows his trash. As you might guess there are a great many myths, and all too often those myths are used to guide policy in the wrong direction.
Thanks for the link.
That’s another thing. If we do really recycle everything possible, what will future archaeologists study?