However, the author devotes the other major focus of her book to the excessive consumption and waste that unnecessarily increase the amount of garbage that society must deal with. In that regard, the author provides an awareness that many readers might have lacked into the imperfect nature of waste disposal from two perspectives: first, she describes the degree to which even the highly regulated approved methods of storing waste are susceptible to leakage and to exposing society to dangerous chemicals; second, she explains that certain forms of mass consumption result in pollution that cannot be mitigated even by the most sophisticated waste disposal methods. For example, in the case of ordinary shoes, she writes:

" & #8230;conventional rubber soles are stabilized with lead that degrades into the atmosphere and soil as the shoe is worn. Rain sluices...

According to the National Park Service, which has more than a passing interest in manmade stuff that lies around on the ground, leather shoes abandoned in the backcountry last up to fifty years (if they aren't eaten, one presumes), and rubber boot soles go another thirty."
That excerpt lays the groundwork for the author's main thesis: that pollution from human industrial waste is hardly a function only of garbage. Rather, it is equally a problem caused by irresponsible consumption in the first place. Ultimately, she makes the point that the first step toward reducing the volume of waste relates to the reduction of unnecessary consumption or wanting of more than we actually need in the first place. In that respect, her work takes on a much wider relevance than simply garbage.