Trashville: Zero Waste is a non-fiction large-format picture book for children. It deals with various environmental issues, such as pollution, waste management and consumerism. On each fully illustrated spread Woldańska-Płocińska describes historical approaches to various types of products and waste, and ways in which people functioned as consumers. She refers to minimalism from the primary times as a perfect way of living, points out the changes brought by the technological development and globalization, and shows the overall effects of pollution caused by humans. The author also shows how people can introduce various habits in their lives to help the planet and ultimately – themselves: recycling, minimalism, and other ways of reducing the carbon footprint. 

Just like in her previous non-fiction book – Zwierzokracja [Animalocracy] – Woldańska-Płocińska does not disregard the ancient traditions, she begins her story with the “old times”: she recalls the primeval times, where humans wore no clothes and lived freely, in harmony with nature. This part is analysed below (see Analysis).

Woldańska-Płocińska alludes to ancient times whilst discussing the beginnings of packaging and storing food and liquids (which then was a necessity, not an ecological choice). In the chapter: “Śliska sprawa” [“Slippery business”] (pp. 16–17) she presents three types of Greek vases (on illustrations, accompanied by short descriptions, arranged in a row), each created for a specific purpose: 

• lekythos, aksos – for olive oil; 
• amphora – for other liquids; 
• hydria – for water. 

It is not clear why she has selected specifically these types of vases, with so many others to choose from (pithos, stamnos, krater, or dinos). Nonetheless, as the book is meant for small children, the introduction of the new names for vases is already part of education about antiquity. It might be considered an unconventional way of introducing ancient historical artefacts: not as a part of general education, but showing how ancient consumerist solutions can also serve people today; highlighting how reusable containers (not necessarily made out of clay, but for example: glass) can replace plastic products. Greeks are presented as eco-friendly people with smart solutions in their repertoire. 

The author also comes back to antiquity when she writes about waste disposal. In the chapter: “Historyczne śmieci” [“Historic waste”] (pp. 34–35) Woldańska-Płocińska writes that in antiquity trash (then – only organic) was taken out of the cities and buried. This way people avoided the accumulation of unwanted waste and the smell it produced. Here again, ancient societies are shown as more resourceful and better attuned to the environment than we are today. Maybe not as eco-friendly as were the first homines sapientes, the ancient Greeks nevertheless serve as an example of a smarter attitude towards the planet and their own well-being.

Bradford, Clare, Kerry Mallan, John Stephens, Robbyn McCallum, New World Orders in Contemporary Children’s Literature: Utopian Transformations, New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. 

Clark, Andrew J., Maya Elston, Mary Loise Hart, Understanding Greek Vases: A Guide to Terms, Styles, and Techniques, Los Angeles, CA: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2002. 

Dobrin, Sidney I., Kenneth B. Kidd, ed., Wild Things: Children’s Culture and Ecocriticism, Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2004. 

Rasmussen, Tom, Nigel Spivey, ed., Looking at Greek Vases, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.