Power resides in waste. As the global population expands towards 9 billion and consumer waste rates nearly double, disposed items must be considered a resource. Not solely for the energy that can be generated from the methane produced during landfilling or the direct combustion during incineration, but as a reliable resource after reevaluating our assessment of the worth of individual materials. Glass, plastic, and textiles all maintain useful life far beyond what is currently considered. To illustrate, CU students in the CVEN4834/5544 Solid Waste course constructed historical symbols of power out of everyday discarded materials. Rethinking our relationship with the things we buy and how we dispose of them rediscovers treasured resources in once waste-full environments.