Trash Attack: Garbage and What We Can Do About It

Laurence Steven is Chairman of the English Department at Laurentian
University and author of Dissociation and Wholeness in Patrick White’s
Fiction.

In Trash Attack, Savage fearlessly attacks society’s ever-increasing
problem of trash. Presenting facts, questions, and possible solutions,
she addresses such pressing issues as “Landfills,”
“Incinerators,” and “Poison Trash.” Did you know that “in just
one year, most people throw away about 80 cans full of garbage”? This
is only one example of society’s careless treatment of the environment
that Savage presents to readers in the 8-12 age range.

Beinicke’s colored cartoon-style drawings support Savage’s effort
to describe the amount of space that 80 cans of garbage fill and the
problems associated with disposing of such an enormous amount of waste.
Blue and green characterize the tranquillity of the environment while
red and yellow depict the high energy needed to save our world. Greys
and browns are reserved for the trash.

Thus, with Beinicke’s help, Savage guides her audience through
problematic garbage-disposal facilities. To assist her audience with
complicated words, she supplies helpful definitions for terms like
“bottom ash,” “biodegradable,” and “methane.” Furthermore,
to inspire her readers to take positive action toward cleaning up the
environment, Savage provides them with suggestions for change: reducing
wax paper in lunches, reusing clothes by handing them down, and
recycling cans by using the blue-box system. By completing six of these
activities, the reader can receive a Trash Attack certificate.

While Trash Attack—with its index and table of contents—is an
obvious choice for elementary-school libraries, we recommend it for
every household as well. Everyone needs to be environmentally conscious,
and this book can involve young and old alike.