In this satirical memoir, a plastic fork recounts its fleeting life of purpose and its enduring existence as waste. Through the fork’s eyes, this humorous yet thought-provoking piece explores humanity’s culture of disposability and the legacy it leaves behind

Trash is a startlingly recent invention. For most of human history, disposability didn’t exist. Everything was woven into cycles of use, return, and renewal. But with the rise of linear production, we created something entirely new: the irredeemable. This invention didn’t just reshape our world; it reshaped how we see ourselves