Review
From the book jacket:
Into our trash cans go dead batteries, dirty
diapers, bygone burritos, broken toys,
tattered socks, eight-track cassettes,
scratched CDs, banana peels … But where do
these things go next? In a country that
consumes and then casts off more and more,
what actually happens to the things we throw
away?
Comment: New York's approximate 320 square miles contains 59 sanitation districts,
employing 7,600 workers, working 6 days a week; one district is South Brooklyn
which is divided into
eleven garages. The particular garage that Royte visits in the opening chapter
of
Garbage Land is broken up into five sections, each in turn served by three
trucks. In one morning, one truck collects about 20,000 lbs of garbage in
less than 4...
Beyond the Book
Here are a few suggestions, edited from Royte's site, on how each of us can make a
difference:
- Support recycling industries by buying goods made or packaged in
recycled content.
- Don't buy individually wrapped single servings; buy in bulk whenever possible.
- When possible, compost food and yard waste.*
- Visit
Ecocycle for practical advice on stopping junk mail.
- Visit
Earth911 for lots of information on recycling, including where to
dispose of cellphones, batteries etc.
- Visit NewDream.com
for inspiration and advice on all things recycling.
- Donate used computers to nonprofits such as
Cristina.org.
- Find a responsible e-waste recycler at
ban.org.
- Launch an...
