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

Wasteland is a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, New York Times Best Book of 2023, and Guardian Best Ideas Book of 2023. It is an eye-opening journey through the global waste industry, exploring the people, corporate greenwashing, and the 10,000-year legacy of nuclear waste.

Format: Hardback
Length: 400 pages
Publication date: 22 June 2023
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd

A BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, one of the New Yorker's Best Books of 2023, and included in the Guardian's Best Ideas Books of 2023, "Wasteland" is a gripping read that will anger as much as it fascinates Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Oliver Bullough, author of "Moneyland," calls it "an incredible journey into the world of rubbish, full of fascinating characters and mind-bending facts." Cal Flyn, author of "Islands of Abandonment," praises it as "urgent, probing, and endlessly interesting."

Within our discarded belongings lie stories of their creators, their significance to individuals before they were cast aside, and their ultimate destination—the vast and fascinating mass of humanity's waste. "Wasteland," written by award-winning journalist Oliver Franklin-Wallis, takes us on an eye-opening journey through the global waste industry. From the towering landfills of New Delhi to the overflowing sewers of Britain, from the abandoned mining towns of the United States to the flooded second-hand markets of Ghana, we meet the people on the front lines of our waste crisis—both those being exploited and those determined to make a difference.

Along the way, we uncover the corporate greenwashing that sparked the recycling movement, the dark truth behind our second-hand donations, and the enduring legacy of our nuclear waste, which spans 10,000 years. "Wasteland" is both shocking and hopeful, serving as a timely and ultimately human story at the heart of an urgent global issue.

Weight: 560g
Dimension: 162 x 240 x 33 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781398505452