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Wasteland

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

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About this listen

 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

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR CONSERVATION WRITING

‘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

'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 Britain’s overflowing sewers, from hollowed-out mining towns in the USA to Ghana’s 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.
©2023 Oliver Franklin-Wallis (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, UK Engineering Thought-Provoking Mining
All stars
Most relevant
a critical and balanced look at waste and recycling that for the most part confirms suspicions about recycling and waste but also a global view of waste as a business and what we could do

well researched and insightful

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You can’t un-learn what this book teaches you. I will never look at waste the same again. Absolutely fantastic and hugely engrossing. You just can’t look away. Beautifully written and really well read too. I found this a genuinely moving journey.

Genuinely life changing.

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From someone who works in the waste industry this is so on point and captivating

Brilliant

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This is a very interesting book but did it really have to have so much swearing in it? Unnecessary and out of place in a non-fiction audiobook - really quite jarring to be sworn at every 5 minutes. Also thought the audio production quality was poor in places. Worth listening to though as, like the book says, the waste industry is so amazingly out of sight that you're unlikely to know much about it unless you've purposely educated yourself.

Interesting but to much swearing

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A well written, well researched book that will probably cause you to think about your own waste, industrial waste, and why governments can’t seem to think long term.

A cause of reflection…

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