During the run-up to the November 12 release of my first book, Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion Dollar Trash Trade, every weekday I’m posting a new photo taken during my decade of reporting on the global waste, recycling, refurbishment, and repair trade. Today’s scene continues this week’s ‘families of scrap’ theme, with two brothers who run a sizable brass recycling business in Jamnagar, India.
This 2011 image of Sunil and Anil Panchamtiya shows the two brothers standing in the remains of brass plumbing scrap that they imported from the United Arab Emirates. They are the heirs to a family scrap business, though Anil – on the right – joined up much earlier than Sunil, on the left. Indeed, prior to taking his rightful place atop the family scrap business, Sunil was a local cricket star, and if – as I did – you have the chance to roam Jamnagar with him, you’ll find that he’s still a bit of a local celebrity. Nonetheless, he spends most of his time in Dubai these days, looking for brass scrap that can be shipped to Jamnagar (three days by boat), sorted, and then melted into new brass plumbing fixtures for sale … back in Dubai. It’s a closed loop that’s generated intense wealth and environmental benefits.
Previous ‘Scenes from a Junkyard Planet’ can be found here. Sunil story is told at much greater length in Junkyard Planet.