Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Readalikes
Elizabeth Royte has written for The New York Times magazine, Harpers, National Geographic, The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker, Outside, Smithsonian, and other national magazines. Her work is included in The Best American Science Writing 2004 (Ecco/HarperCollins), the environmental omnibus Naked (FourWallsEightWindows), and Outside magazine's Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison (W.W. Norton & Company). A former Alicia Patterson Foundation fellow, Royte is a frequent contributor to the New York Times Book Review, a contributing editor for OnEarth, and a correspondent for Outside magazine. She is the author of The Tapir's Morning Bath: Solving the Mysteries of the Tropical Rain Forest, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year for 2001; Garbage Land, and Bottlemania. Elizabeth Royte lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their daughter.
Elizabeth Royte's website
This bio was last updated on 03/26/2016. We try to keep BookBrowse's biographies both up to date and accurate, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's a tough task. So, please help us - if the information about a particular author is out of date or inaccurate, and you know of a more complete source, please let us know. Authors: If you wish to make changes to your bio, send your complete biography as you would like it displayed so that we can replace the old with the new.
An Interview with Elizabeth Royte, author of Garbage Land
Why write about garbage?
I’ve always wondered whether it was better, environmentally speaking, to
throw a used tissue in the toilet or in the trash. And like a lot of people, I
wondered where things went, and what became of them, after I threw them 'away.'
So I started keeping track of my trash, quantifying it—to learn exactly what I
was rejecting. Then I began traveling with my trash. As I learned how far my
garbage footprint spread, I tried my utmost to leave a smaller human stain. The
tissue, by the way, should go in the toilet. But don’t flush till you must!
What was the most surprising thing you learned while researching the book?
That municipal solid waste – the stuff that comes from you and me, plus the
stuff that comes from institutions and businesses – makes up only two percent of
the total U.S. waste stream. The remainder, some 12 billion tons a year, is
mostly nonhazardous industrial waste, plus mining, agricultural, and hazardous
waste.
What were some of the most difficult roadblocks to researching Garbage Land?
It was hard getting just about anyone to answer my phone calls, let alone show
me ...
Andrew D. Blechman has been a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and the Des Moines Register. His work has also appeared in Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Times, and The International Herald Tribune, among others. His ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Garbage Land
Try:
Pigeons
by Andrew D. Blechman
Rose George began writing in 1994, as an intern at The Nation magazine in New York. Later, she became senior editor and writer at COLORS magazine, the bilingual “global magazine about local cultures” published in 80... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Garbage Land
Try:
The Big Necessity
by Rose George
We recommend 6 similar authors
Become a Member and discover books that entertain, engage & enlighten!
An eye-opening and riveting look at how how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending.
About the book
The Twelve-Mile Straight
by Eleanor Henderson
An audacious epic set in rural Georgia during the years of the Depression and Prohibition.
Reader Reviews
Love and Other Consolation Prizes
by Jamie Ford
Inspired by a true story, about a boy whose life is transformed at Seattle's epic 1909 World's Fair.
Reader Reviews
If the Creek Don't Rise
A debut novel bursting with heart, honesty, and homegrown grit.
Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends books that we believe to be best in class. Books that will whisk you to faraway places and times, that will expand your mind and challenge you -- the kinds of books you just can't wait to tell your friends about.
Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info & giveaways by email.
