Junkyard Planet ~ Global Trash Trading...

The Economist reviews Adam Minter's Junkyard Planet which surveys the emergence of value-from-waste ventures globally...

"The multibillion-dollar recycling trade stands as “one of globalisation’s great, green successes”, writes Adam Minter, an American journalist, in "Junkyard Planet".

It is also a largely unsung one, as under-appreciated as a rusty bike. The industry turns over as much as $500 billion annually, and employs a huge number of people. [...] Dirty, dangerous, cheap to get into and not without romance, the junk business extracts value from what others see as worthless. Mr Minter is not blind to the grim realities of the industry. [...] But any recrimination over these recycling practices is best directed at the rich world and at the increasingly wealthy Chinese who are beginning to match their wasteful, spendthrift counterparts in the West. The recycling industry squeezes value from used goods, but nothing is 100% recyclable."

See excerpt at Shanghai Scrap, Minter's blog!