Includes bibliographical references (pages 341-379) and index. "First published in Great Britain by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2023"--Colophon page.
Contents:
Introduction: the tipping floor -- Dirty -- The mountain ; Save scrap for victory! ; The world's garbage can ; Up in smoke ; Used ; Foul -- The cure for cholera ; A third of everything ; Breakdown ; Toxic -- Unholy water ; Control, delete ; The dam breaks ; Hazard ; Epilogue: Precious.
Summary:
Outlining the inequitable ways in which the world disposes of trash and sharing the stories of those affected, the author recounts his time climbing mountains of refuse with "waste pickers," who make a living gathering recyclables from a Delhi landfill, and describes the work of an environmental scientist who oversees the site of a former Oklahoma town abandoned after toxic byproducts from nearby mines made it uninhabitable. Franklin-Wallis pays keen attention to how waste disposal intersects with social justice, as when he discusses how legal loopholes incentivize rich countries to export their recyclables to the global south, where they end up leaching chemicals from landfills, a practice known as "toxic colonialism." A fierce critic of greenwashing, the author suggests that "compostable plastics" are mostly bunk and describes how some grocery stores incinerate the recyclables they collect from customers. Franklin-Wallis achieves the difficult feat of making an ostensibly mundane topic feel urgent, and the compassionate profiles effectively humanize a problem that's massive in scope. Additionally, his proposed solutions are well considered, including suggestions to "make greenwashing illegal" and hold companies responsible for the waste they produce, no matter where it ends up. It's a vital call to action.
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