Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale

(Paperback)

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Description

From the acclaimed author of Junkyard Planet, a global exploration of the hidden market for used stuff and a travelogue that follows unwanted, obsolescent objects journey into a reusable future. When you drop a box of unwanted items off at the local thrift store, where does it go Probably across the country - or even halfway across the world - to people and places eager to re-use what you don't want. In Secondhand, Adam Minter delves into the vast, multibillion-dollar industry that resells used stuff around the world. He follows the trail of unwanted objects from the closets, garages and storage units of middle America, to epic used goods markets in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Ghana, India, Malaysia and beyond. Secondhand takes us through the often painful and heartbreaking process of cleaning out a lifetimes worth of possessions, and shows that used stuff still has a place in a world that values new and shiny - it entertains us, makes fortunes, fulfills needs, and transforms the way we live and work.

Reviews

Eye-opening . . . [Minter is] an excellent guide to this sprawling and bewildering trade. * Wall Street Journal on JUNKYARD PLANET *
Minter successfully resists oversimplifying the issue China currently faces--with a growing middle class demanding more raw material for new construction, the options are living with the pollution caused by recycling or the environmental consequences of mining for raw materials . . . Minter concludes that the solution is in the first word in the phrase, 'Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.' * Publishers Weekly on JUNKYARD PLANET *
A detailed view of a mostly unknown business that touches the lives of everyone, whether or not they ever dragged a trash and/or recycle bin out to the curb. * Kirkus Reviews on JUNKYARD PLANET *
A satisfying investigation-cum-travelogue. * Mother Jones on JUNKYARD PLANET *
Minter is here to tell you that there's big money to be made in what American consumers and industries throw away. As he travels the world from Houston to Guangzhou, surveying the debris and discards that fill scrap yards and warehouses, Minter takes the reader into a world of commodities trading that is every bit as lucrative and cutthroat as anything on Wall Street. The son of a scrap man, Minter brings an insider's knowledge and appreciation for an industry that no one thinks about, everyone contributes to, and a lucky few profit from. * Booklist on JUNKYARD PLANET *
Fascinating. * Atlantic Cities on JUNKYARD PLANET *
Lively and entertaining . . . Junkyard Planet is a book for anyone interested in the environment, the economics of recycling, or a thoughtful look at the consumption we take for granted. * Brooklyn Bugle on JUNKYARD PLANET *
Superbly researched. * Financial Times on JUNKYARD PLANET *

Author Bio

Adam Minter is the author of Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade and a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. He lives in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.