Wasteland: The Dirty Truth About What We Throw Away, Where It Goes, and Why It Matters

A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK ONE OF THE NEW YORKER'S BEST BOOKS OF 2023  INCLUDED IN THE GUARDIAN'S BEST IDEAS BOOKS OF 2023 A gripping read that will anger as much as it fascinates Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall An incredible journey into the world of rubbish, full of fascinating characters and mind-bending facts Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland Urgent, probing and endlessly interesting Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment 'A fascinating, deeply researched and hugely important expos of what happens to the stuff we no longer want, and the social and environmental cost of dealing with it' Gaia Vince Compelling, smart, fair, often funny, always interesting, and just very important Mary Roach, author of Stiff 'There are stories in all our discarded things: who made them, what they meant to a person before they were thrown away. In the end, it all ends up in the same place the endless ingenuity of humanity in one filthy, fascinating mass.'   When we throw things away, what does that actually mean? Where does it go, and who deals with it when it gets there? In Wasteland, award-winning journalist Oliver Franklin-Wallis takes us on an eye-opening journey through the global waste industry. From the mountainous landfills of New Delhi to Britains overflowing sewers, from hollowed-out mining towns in the USA to Ghanas flooded second-hand markets, we meet the people on the frontline of our waste crisis both those being exploited, and those determined to make a difference. On the way, we discover the corporate greenwashing that started the recycling movement; the dark truth behind our second-hand donations; and come face to face with the 10,000-year legacy of our nuclear waste.   Both shocking and hopeful, Wasteland is the timely and ultimately human story at the heart of an urgent global issue.