From the ubiquity of „misery” to selective waste collection. A brief geography of Bucharest hygiene and sanitation
From the ubiquity of „misery” to selective waste collection. A brief geography of Bucharest hygiene and sanitation

Summary/Abstract: Nowadays, waste, understood as ecological and utilitarian waste, resultingfrom the manufacturing process, and from using goods or utilities, is notperceived as a critical challenge, an urgent socio-ecological problem for Bucharestadministrators and most of its inhabitants. Hidden or exposed, waste talks about thecontrast between European aspiration and the reality of indifference. The presentresearch meets the imperative of awareness, by studying Bucharest sanitationconditions in the past 300 years, a historical and anthropological approach. Onlyby identifying recurring difficulties in managing public hygiene, observing successfulprojects developed by several administrations or by understanding the mechanismthat changed habits, we can formulate solutions for a more responsible Bucharest.We notice how, a solid legislative basis, the determination of some actors (doctors,politicians), dwellers aid to eradicate or to establish public hygiene practices,gradually isolated the sight of waste and misery outside the city, in dedicatedspaces. The next step on Bucharest future map is to raise awareness on wasteubiquity, even if hidden from our senses, a reality that requires the „collective spirit”activation to reduce the effects of pollution.

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