On Plastic, Glass and Silicon

In this paper, I focus on the methodological and theoretical possibilities of an archaeology of electronic waste, using an assemblage of e-waste to explore issues pertaining to memory, ethics and the true impact of the digital on people and things. It is argued that archaeologists working on contemporary archaeology are well equipped to address the challenges of e-waste, both as it affects communities in the present and also as regards a future that may well be closer than is imagined.