A review by mkesten
Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade by Adam Minter

3.0

I started this book with high hopes: scrap is a serious component of globalization. After all, one man's junk is another man's opportunity. Minter's folksy, i was there narrative is a little unexpected. And for a while, quite frankly, it got on my nerves. But Minter does get to see things you and I will just never see. And his reactions, even for somebody steeped in scrap from the crib, are things we can all identify with. He sees the imbalances in expectations between developed and under-developed societies. He sees wealth re-distributed. He sees innovation and imagination at work. And he sees the inexorable march of consumption. Recycling simply does't make our planet more liveable. It may put off the inevitable environmental catastrophe, but it cannot alter fate. It is a sad yet compelling look at what happens to junk: where it goes, who it enriches, and what we have to gain by consuming less. I heartily recommend this book to you.