Most of the talks I give touch on some aspect of my family background. But for plenty of reasons, I’ve skirted opportunities to go deeper (except in Junkyard Planet). But back in June, when I was invited to participate in TEDxBeijing, I decided to dig a little deeper. In part I did so because I’ve…
All posts in Junkyard Planet
Junkyard Planet Goes to China
I’m pleased – as in thrilled – to announce that the Chinese edition of Junkyard Planet has just been published. When I started writing the book four years ago, I always had a Chinese audience in mind. Nonetheless, for all kinds of reasons, there was never any guarantee that I’d reach that audience. So the fact that…
Anatomy of a Myth: the World’s Biggest E-Waste Dump Isn’t.
Let’s start with two photographs. The first was shot by me in China’s Hunan Province. It shows a warehouse that contains roughly 5,000 old locally-collected televisions awaiting recycling. This photo only captures a portion of what is a big inventory, and a big operation. Every day more arrive. Most people outside of China have never…
Junkyard Planet – the Paperback.
I’m very pleased to announce that Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion Dollar Trash Trade, was released in a paperback edition today, Tuesday April 14. I have a copy sitting beside me right now, and – as usual – Bloomsbury Press has done a terrific job packaging it. Like the hardcover, it contains 24 pages of…
The actual reason nobody’s interested in stealing your scrap metal, anymore.
On Monday the New York Times ran a very good portrait of a Detroit metal scrapper going about his business, scrounging for metal and seeking places to sell it. Business isn’t what it used to be, the Times tells us, mostly thanks to a spate of law enforcement measures that make it harder to fence…
What Does San Diego Have Against Recycling, Free Enterprise, and the American Way?
For more than a decade, Gary Ries of Mission Hills, California, has spent his spare time earning money by picking recyclable cans and bottles from trash cans owned by the city of San Diego. Under most definitions, this is laudable entrepreneurship and everyone wins: Ries makes a few extra bucks, San Diego trucks a few…
The UK is Part of Junkyard Planet
I’ve spent the last ten days in the UK meeting media, and making appearances related to Junkyard Planet. It’s been an absolute thrill, and the reception has been excellent. On Saturday, for example, I was the lucky recipient of two marvelous reviews in the London papers. Writing for the Guardian, Isabel Hilton calls Junkyard Planet…
What Really Happens to Your Christmas Tree Lights After You Recycle Them?
As readers of Junkyard Planet know, that’s a question that I’ve been asking since 2011, and my first visit to Shijiao, a small-town in south China that I call the ‘Christmas Tree Light Recycling Capitol of the World.’ The story of Shijiao is about more than just the recycling of Christmas tree lights. In many…
Book Touring, and the Relentless Search for the Elusive Land Line
This afternoon I spent some time working on details for what’s going to be the second leg of a Junkyard Planet tour that’ll lead me to the UK. And that got me wondering if it’s going to be anything like the first leg. The thing is, before this all started, I sort of knew what…
A personal note from the Junkyard Planet tour
The North American tour for Junkyard Planet is over, and we’re finally back in Shanghai. The six weeks since the November 12 release have been a whirlwind, and I’m only now beginning to process where we’ve been, and all that’s happened. As some of you know, my mother passed away suddenly in the midst of…