Olivier Giron is a graduate student in photography at George Mason University who has focused his thesis work on illegal waste dumping in Fairfax County. Olivier’s work was featured on the front page of The Fairfax County Times which is where I first heard about him. I contacted him for an interview and we met on campus in late July.

I first asked how he became interested in illegal dumping. Olivier completed his undergraduate degree in Environment Science and Landscaping Architecture and then went on to work in landscape architecture after college. He did not really feel fulfilled at his job and decided to pursue his passion, photography. He became interested in waste and illegal dumping after going to Machu Picchu during a trip to Central and South America. There, he saw a waste overflow site that was a result of having so many tourists that visit. The image of this site is on his business card. It shows the stark contrast between mounds of red, garbage-filled bags within a beautiful forest. He is also interested in the larger issue behind illegal waste dumping- consumerism- and attributes the rise in illegal waste dumping to being a throw-away society.

The next question asked how prevalent he thinks dumping is in Fairfax County. He said that in his work he found about 60 sites from really small to really big. One example he spoke about is a small farm where squatters were staying and charging people to dump items on the land. Once the property was full, they moved out. In his research, Olivier found out that the Fairfax County Health Department receives about 300 calls a year about illegal dumping and the severity of the cases range from littering to a much larger scale. He said that he thinks illegal waste dumping is probably less of a problem in our areas than in others because this is such a wealthy county. He did say that sites are more common in the industrial areas of the county, particularly near Springfield where there are more industrial and secluded areas.

One of the drivers of illegal waste dumping is that there are many regulations about what waste you can take to what landfill, recycling center, etc. Some people are not aware or do not have access to the correct method of disposal so it becomes easier to illegally dump the items. He says that he finds it interesting that illegal dumping sites are usually said to be public health hazards in that they are a potential source of injury for people and that classifying them as environmental health hazards is not as common.

When asked what the most surprising thing he has ever seen in his field work, he talked about the farm mentioned above where the squatters were making money off of accepting waste however the types of items he saw there were not very surprising. The farm had a lot of tires and it is hard to find places to dispose of tires so it is a common illegally dumped item. What he has seen that was strange to him are the random household materials that are dumped which include dresses, shoes and other everyday items. It is surprising to him that people would find it necessary to illegally dump these things.

As part of my practicum experience, I was interested in possibly doing several field observations in the county so I asked Olivier where he would recommend I go. He mentioned a site off of Braddock Road

Olivier has seen awareness raised on this topic by word of mouth, through the newspaper article he was featured in and through his photographs. Also, he has been taking gps coordinates of the location of the sites that he can then report to a website- letsdoitworld.org that maps illegal dump sites throughout the world. He mentioned that he has really enjoyed working on this project but it has also been difficult for him in that he has to wear a lot of hats. He considers himself shy but has had to work with the media and with multiple organizations and people to organize events. The main thing that he has tried to remember throughout this experience is that he does not want to lose focus on his photography.

I asked him what resources he would recommend I look at to gain a broader perspective of this topic. One book he mentioned was “Cradle to Cradle” by University Professor William McDonough. He cited this book as being influential in his thinking about his project. He also said that there are lectures on the nonprofit organization TED’s website (the non-profit organization Technology, Entertainment, Design). Also, Keep PA Beautiful is an organization in Pennsylvania that surveys every county in the state to map the illegal dumping areas. He finds it interesting to see the relationship between sites in urban versus rural areas. He is impressed that Pennsylvania has done this since most states are reactive to dump sites. For example, for most states the only illegal dumping action is providing a way for citizens to alert the proper department of an existing site.

Olivier said that one of the biggest inspirations for his work is “Let’s Do It 2008”, a campaign in Estonia that led a country-wide clean-up of over 50,000 people. The influence of the campaign led to a world-wide campaign called “Let’s Do It World.” The campaign has a website where people can send in gps mapped locations of illegal waste sites around the world. Virginia also has a state site- letsdoitva.org. Olivier reported some of the 60 sites he visited throughout the county and received a personal call back.

He also mentioned two photographers he has been inspired by- Edward Burtinsky and Pieter Hugo. Burtinsky is one of Canada’s most respected photographers and one of his projects focuses on China and the current large scale of consumption and waste that occurs. His photos show “nature transformed through industry.” In talking about his work he says, “These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We are drawn by desire- a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times.”

Finally, Pieter Hugo photographed the people and landscape of a dump of obsolete technology in Ghana for his project named “Permanent Error.” He was at an area on the outskirts of a slum called Agbogbloshie. Hugo asked the people what they call the pit where they burn the waste and they said, “For this place, we have no name.” He says, “Notions of time and progress are collapsed in these photographs. There are elements in the images that fast-forward us to an apocalyptic end of the world as we know it, yet the alchemy on this site and the strolling cows recall a pastoral existence that rewinds our minds to a medieval setting. The cycles of history and the lifespan of our technology are both clearly apparent in this cemetery of artifacts from the industrialized world. We are also reminded of the fragility of the information and stories that were stored in the computers which are now just black smoke and melted plastic.”

ehanfman@masonlive.gmu.edu

Photo source: Fairfax Times