“As Great a Nuisance as the Garbage Itself”: Race, Power, and the Question of Waste Management in Portland, Oregon, 1871–1905

Abstract:At the end of the nineteenth century, Portland, Oregon, was struggling to adequately collect and dispose of the refuse being produced by its rapidly growing population and industries. City officials sought to exert greater municipal control over Portland’s waste management system by funding the construction and operation of garbage crematories and bypassing ordinances to control the collection, movement, and disposal of waste. These measures, however, did not solve the city’s garbage problem. Examining Portland’s early history of waste management reveals a municipal government struggling to deal with the material effects of urbanization and industrialization. This study also looks at the ways that anti-Chinese racism shaped the city’s waste management system. From characterizing both Chinese residents and unincinerated garbage as legal nuisances to attempting to prohibit them from employment as street cleaners, it is evident that Portland’s anti-Chinese and urban sanitation movements overlapped and, when viewed together, reveal early examples of environmental racism.