Junkyard Planet

Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Technology, Engineering, Environmental, Business & Finance, Economics, International
Cover of the book Junkyard Planet by Adam Minter, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Adam Minter ISBN: 9781608197927
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: November 12, 2013
Imprint: Bloomsbury Press Language: English
Author: Adam Minter
ISBN: 9781608197927
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: November 12, 2013
Imprint: Bloomsbury Press
Language: English

How can garbage turn into gold? What does recycling have to do with globalization? Where does all that stuff we throw away go, anyway?

When you drop your Diet Coke can or yesterday's newspaper in the recycling bin, where does it go? Probably halfway around the world, to people and places that clean up what you don't want and turn it into something you can't wait to buy. In Junkyard Planet, Adam Minter-veteran journalist and son of an American junkyard owner-travels deeply into a vast, often hidden, 500-billion-dollar industry that's transforming our economy and environment.

Minter takes us from back-alley Chinese computer recycling operations to recycling factories capable of processing a jumbo jet's worth of trash every day. Along the way, we meet an international cast of characters who have figured out how to squeeze Silicon Valley-scale fortunes from what we all throw away. Junkyard Planet reveals how "going green†? usually means making money-and why that's often the most sustainable choice, even when the recycling methods aren't pretty.

With unmatched access to and insight on the waste industry, and the explanatory gifts and an eye for detail worthy of a John McPhee or William Langewiesche, Minter traces the export of America's garbage and the massive profits that China and other rising nations earn from it. What emerges is an engaging, colorful, and sometimes troubling tale of how the way we consume and discard stuff brings home the ascent of a developing world that recognizes value where Americans don't. Junkyard Planet reveals that Americans might need to learn a smarter way to take out the trash.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

How can garbage turn into gold? What does recycling have to do with globalization? Where does all that stuff we throw away go, anyway?

When you drop your Diet Coke can or yesterday's newspaper in the recycling bin, where does it go? Probably halfway around the world, to people and places that clean up what you don't want and turn it into something you can't wait to buy. In Junkyard Planet, Adam Minter-veteran journalist and son of an American junkyard owner-travels deeply into a vast, often hidden, 500-billion-dollar industry that's transforming our economy and environment.

Minter takes us from back-alley Chinese computer recycling operations to recycling factories capable of processing a jumbo jet's worth of trash every day. Along the way, we meet an international cast of characters who have figured out how to squeeze Silicon Valley-scale fortunes from what we all throw away. Junkyard Planet reveals how "going green†? usually means making money-and why that's often the most sustainable choice, even when the recycling methods aren't pretty.

With unmatched access to and insight on the waste industry, and the explanatory gifts and an eye for detail worthy of a John McPhee or William Langewiesche, Minter traces the export of America's garbage and the massive profits that China and other rising nations earn from it. What emerges is an engaging, colorful, and sometimes troubling tale of how the way we consume and discard stuff brings home the ascent of a developing world that recognizes value where Americans don't. Junkyard Planet reveals that Americans might need to learn a smarter way to take out the trash.

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book Tabula Rasa by Adam Minter
Cover of the book Shifting by Adam Minter
Cover of the book The Wall by Adam Minter
Cover of the book Lützen & Bautzen 1813 by Adam Minter
Cover of the book Women and Shari'a Law by Adam Minter
Cover of the book Heart of a Lion by Adam Minter
Cover of the book Tracks and Signs of the Birds of Britain and Europe by Adam Minter
Cover of the book Wood Plays: 1 by Adam Minter
Cover of the book A Very Different Land by Adam Minter
Cover of the book Young Nelsons by Adam Minter
Cover of the book Engines of Privilege by Adam Minter
Cover of the book Beautiful Thing by Adam Minter
Cover of the book Landscape and Travelling East and West: A Philosophical Journey by Adam Minter
Cover of the book Conditions by Adam Minter
Cover of the book Bloomsbury Dictionary of Idioms by Adam Minter
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy