Junkyard planet
by Adam Minter · first published 2013
71% recommend29% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Engaging, economics-focused tour of the global recycling and scrap trade, following sourcing chains from paper and metals to electronics; a good introduction for readers curious about how the waste industry works.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"When you drop your Diet Coke can or yesterday's newspaper in the recycling bin, where does it go? Probably halfway around the world, to people and places that clean up what you don't want and turn it into something you can't wait to buy. In Junkyard Planet, Adam Minter-- veteran journalist and son of an American junkyard owner-- travels deeply into a vast, often hidden, multibillion-dollar industry that's transforming our economy and environment. Minter takes us from back-alley Chinese computer recycling operations to recycling factories capable of processing a jumbo jet's worth of trash ever
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A useful post. Have you read the Adam Minter book Junkyard Planet? https://jakeseliger.com/2018/04/10/junkyard-planet-adam-mint.... It's a deep and excellent look into how the junk supply starts in the United States and goes (went, now, I guess) to China. "Waste" made…
on “China is no longer importing waste – 111M tons will have to go elsewhere” ↗…not economical to do so. When you can trade existing batteries to Best Buy for a couple bucks, you'll know the price of cobalt (or nickel, or lithium) is genuinely high. People interested should read Junkyard Planet: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Junkyard-Planet-Travels-Billion-Dol...
on “What if China corners the cobalt market?” ↗…to make money off of it, not throw it in a river. Although a lot of crap does wind up in the air and water, the environmental havoc wreaked by thousands of backyard plastic smelters is incredible. "Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade" by Adam Minter https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17286721-junkyard-planet
on “Dead sperm whale found in Indonesia had ingested '6kg of plastic'” ↗…There are a couple of chapters on electronics and Shenzhen, as well as other chapters ranging from paper & cotton, steel, plastics, aluminium, etc, and the entire sourcing chain. http://www.amazon.com/Junkyard-Planet-Travels-Billion-Dollar...
on “Shenzhen trip report – visiting the world's manufacturing ecosystem” ↗…low tech nature, a lot of the 'value' could have already been extracted via any widespread method, and this is the byproduct of already processed recyclables being sold on. I highly recommend the book Junkyard Planet by Adam Minter, who follows the global scrap trade. Link to his site: http://shanghaiscrap.com/books/junkyard-planet/ Link to the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Junkyard-Planet-Travels-Billion-Dollar...
on “Agbogbloshie, the world's largest e-waste dump” ↗We aren't forcing it on anybody. They buy it, ship it, and make $$$. "Junkyard Planet, Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade" by Adam Minter > Minter traces the export of America's recyclables and the massive profits that China and other rising nations earn from it. What emerges is…
on “Plastic Bag Found at the Bottom of World's Deepest Ocean Trench” ↗Interesting link. Another link! This to a book that enlightened me to the chaotic world of globalised recycling: Junkyard Planet by Adam Minter. https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/1608197913
on “India Imposes Complete Ban on Solid Plastic Waste Imports” ↗If you're truly interested in the economics of the waste industry, the book Junkyard Planet by Adam Minter was a good introduction: https://www.amazon.com/Junkyard-Planet-Travels-Billion-Dolla...
on “Where does your plastic waste end up?” ↗For a fascinating (and less sensational) read on the global recycling trade I recommend "Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade" by Adam Minter https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17286721-junkyard-planet
on “Asian countries take a stand against the rich world’s plastic waste” ↗…interested in this topic I highly recommend Adam Minter as better source on this stuff. He adopts a strictly economic perspective on the recycling trade which makes way more sense. https://www.amazon.com/Junkyard-Planet-Travels-Billion-Dolla...
on “'Plastic recycling is a myth': what really happens to your rubbish” ↗They are relatively easy to recycle, and valuable enough that "metal theft" is a thing. Remember all the rusted-out cars that folks had in their yards? They're mostly gone now. See "Junkyard Planet; Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade" by Adam Minter, fascinating book IMO.
on “What happens to all the dead electric-car batteries?” ↗Mining guy. Don’t be scared there is plenty of cobalt Recycling could also easily kick into gear if/when prices rise high enough. See one of my favorite recent books, Junkyard Planet, for more: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/18/junkyard-plane... Right now, many people don't bother recycling older phones and laptops because they can't get any money for them. If/when prices…
on “Apple in Talks to Buy Cobalt Directly from Miners” ↗There's a huge international ecosystem of sorts. Cf. "Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade" by Adam Minter. Metal is made into shoddy components and appliances and sold to the consumer. When they break, they're scrapped, recycled, and remanufactured…
on “They Used To Last 50 Years” ↗I am currently reading a book on recycling that disputes that narrative (Junkyard Planet by Adam Minter). The main argument is that shipping a container of "recycling material" across the oceans costs real money (much more than a local landfill), that somebody paid. That somebody surely isn't…
on “Ask HN: Are You Hopeful About the Environment?” ↗I'm reading Minter's Junkyard Planet right now, whic is primarily about the global recycling trade. It's quite interesting, though a little too first-person/anecdotal. nonetheless it's thorough enough to give a good idea of what is happening…
on “The global trade in junk and trash” ↗