This article concerns the interpretation of refuse dumps discovered at three abandoned Soviet tactical nuclear bases in Poland and how their analysis prompted a reassessment of archaeological remote sensing results. The study employed a range of methods to document the remnants of these secret sites, including declassified spy satellite images, aerial photographs, airborne and terrestrial laser scanning, UAV prospection, and field surveys, supplemented by CIA reports and Warsaw Pact military documents. These data bridge significant gaps in archival records, offering valuable insights into the history of these sites. However, the discovery of Cold War-era refuse dumps near the bases containing materials that do not conform to other evidence present an interpretative challenge. It exposed ‘survivorship bias’ in the dataset, prompting a re-evaluation of earlier conclusions.

In this overview, we examine some of the ways in which archaeologists have increasingly turned their attention to the contemporary world, focusing not on ancient artefacts but on the material legacies that we ourselves are creating and what they tell us about ourselves, including the impact we are having on planetary and human health. One aspect of this “contemporary archaeology” is the study of modern waste, an area of research often referred to as “garbology.” Originating in the later 1960s, this study of modern waste is typically focused on the plastics that characterise what is now commonly referred to as the Plastic Age, a supposedly more familiar past aligning with both cultural experience and memory. The paper emphasises archaeology’s strong interdisciplinary traditions, particularly in its use of scientific methods, which make it easier for archaeologists to work within interdisciplinary teams and with other stakeholders and with policymakers, these being particularly relevant in studies that focus on the contemporary world. The paper concludes by describing how archaeologists are using these perspectives on the contemporary world to cast their eyes forward to the future.