One theme that has been recurring in Underworld is the theme of waste and garbage. Not only are several strorylines and characters (including a main protagonist, Nick Shay) involved in Waste management, but the more I read the more garbage seems to have a secret but immense effect on human life in the book. The people who work for waste management seem to be in on this secret, however, and admire the influence of garbage:

Nick's life, for example, seems to revolve around thoughts of garbage, even outside of work: "Marian and I saw products as garbage even when they sat gleaming on store shelves, yet unbought. We didnt' say, What king of casserole will that make? We said, What king garbage will that make?" (121) This passage is particularly interesting because this couple immediately sees beneath the newness and wonder what an item's destruction will look like.