From GEORGE NICHOLASM
While archaeologists have traditionally focused on past cultures, our
work often has relevance to contemporary problems. This is exemplified by
William Rathje’s long-term garbage project, (‘Degradable plastics’, Inside
Science, 19 October). Rathje’s recovery of an intact ear of corn, dating
to 1971, from the Freshkills landfill he excavated in New York in 1988,
demonstrates one limit of biodegradation approaches to plastics. Simply
adding corn starch to plastic to encourage microbial breakdown is not likely
to work in landfills where ears of corn themselves were completely ignored
for 17 years.
George Nicholas The University College of the Cariboo Kamloops, British
Columbia Canada
