This chapter explores the intersection of political repression, social marginalization and garbology as a tool for understanding hidden narratives in Iran. The author recounts her experiences studying waste as a means of documenting the lives of impoverished, exiled intellectuals, Afghan refugees and sex workers. Through encounters with persecuted academics, imprisoned colleagues and individuals surviving on society’s fringes, she uncovers the silent stories embedded in discarded objects. The author’s research takes her from makeshift settlements in Tehran to clandestine meetings with marginalized scholars, revealing a network of resilience amid systemic oppression. Personal reflections intertwine with broader socio-political realities, including the state’s control over academia and the suppression of dissent. Each piece of garbage becomes an inscription dedicated to survival, reflecting economic hardship, gender struggles and political exile. The chapter presents detailed micro-histories—based on collected garbage bags from waste bins and personal interviews—that expose Iran’s class divides and everyday struggles. Through this fragmented yet deeply personal narrative, the author reconstructs identity and resistance, demonstrating how garbage, much like history, preserves the voices of those whom society seeks to erase.