PART 3. THE WAY BACK 9. Pikattne Liter 187 10, chcoandthe Men 208 11, Gren Cis and Garbage Death Rays 247 12, Pure, Peps nd the Per of No 268 popu Garage In, Garbage Out 287 tanned 297 Endnotes 307 Indo 315 INTRODUCTION: 102 TONS (OR: BECOMING CHINA'S TRASH COMPACTOR) ‘ng. dangerous confines ofa ruined Sout Side Chicago home, searching forthe eldesy coupe wapped insite ‘More than anor ne, as cous neighbors guhere and Hons Jase Gaston, a seveny-sin-yearold chemist and Ms wife “Then a reine scholsachet wales nteady nto the Ray attemoon ight dedratod and hongry but sll among the ng, : ‘The Gastons ha ben rapped by taster own trashhouse was covered yer of ld newspaper. empty plastic ars. age bag ed wih the dts of aly fe. A of his and ch ‘he highest eben caboards the ones that held he good chins A broken refrigerator layin he een, lf buted and etng ons sid, i ope up bythe sea of betes cans ertons and sacks ‘Safely navigable te stars were locked the furitrebuie he gurage packed floor eng The deordered accumulation ooked as it had ben are iby dl wave ‘The Gaston imply ges able o part wlth hee sash. Tis piece ata te then a bag here and there then whole boxes of trash an Sinaly te Gaston home became 2 one-way depestons ‘he garbage version ofthe Fag’ frou Hotel Caforna stall fad bash consured thelr home and almost thor lives. Nelgbors, ‘armed by the fact thatthe couple hadnt been seen in three ‘Aitough most of us eno view is sr of een hours fof the Gaston Rowehold ae found around the country more or and seldom wih the fanfze of news coverage. Somewhere De Gastons’The phenomenon offers enough freakshow fascination Hordes, which entertans viewers by taking them inside dif sothoarder homies every wes The show's website offers handy ‘eueracve quo help viewers datrmine ifthe on are aded to hoarding or merely just messy ‘This phenomenon has aot yet adeved tue immortity as 4 issnct mental ness=the ble of prvi the Diagnostic (nd Statistica! Manual of Mental Disrdrs, categories exceme Ht classed as 6 own, unlgue amen: lsposophobia. The Pro posed malady i slternaey known a Colyer Brothers syntome. ‘aud for one of the earest and mot dramatic manifestations of ‘media-immortaized wash hoarding. Homer ané Langley Collyer ‘ich and recive rebelled ary i the twentieth century against ‘he st-evaving pracce of mandatory sauniial garbage cle thom in New York City Thy tured their mlcory brownstone into | cammed and putelying museum of trash featuring endless pes sod roms of newspaper: bts, boxes broken gadgetry (Laney Colyer fancied himself inventor anda paral bared Mode crahed by a collapsing tunnel of ath, and Me invalid alderrote Homes helpless without Langley cre ie ater of hist Ut srvaton, Authorities eventually raved about 190 tas of trash rom he bots home. “he mortily compeling a8 sich extreme hoarding may be neater rating for cale(levision ook-100 show cared 3 tnuipe-srason enewal dea long ith spawning arial Progam, {TLC Hoorn: Bare Alte) te most reveling aspect of i ‘ovophobia i sodee/s tne deaf response to the phenomenon "Te focus of therapists “ongaizaton coaches” fly frends abd "TV show boss aways on persuading disposophobis to do “oma” peole do taketh teh 0 te eat stan be led saeoy Atte counosing here a tle paychostve drug therary there sow ba eas crema dump rack and ore tier doses tf ts Clea and poo peoblem sled. But ite if any ought fiven to the refise isl. o othe rather scarier question of Row ny pore hoarer ort. can possibly generat so much ash 0 aio (Of cours heres reason for tis blind spot namely: the nt oun rash nd wast hat hoses generate pete, omivagty norma es ust hat ot of ws oar in lands eaten of iin rooms so we never se the rly epic quantties of fut ate all scar Bat take no mistake: The two Fee erst ook the Gatos ofl hes house wih fit tos of ‘nts pic for an American couple The Colyer broters were Gratien in thir oa ine bu hey woald rin the normal ange (Grea 2014 gute nicl: Toei Meine trash prodition seve Jeans agp matches alot tothe pound the prodigious modern Dpnvian equivalent he rst of us are ust eter a ings most fom ourselves ‘his tures out to be something various government, dusty ond untvrsty surveys ttm oak ule careful Americans ‘make more tash than anyone else on the lane throwing away shout 7.1 pounds per person per ay 365 days a year ‘ach af ou bodies may occupy only one cemetery plot when ‘were done wit ths word buta singe persons 102-on trash a= cy wi rguize te eguialnt of 1100 graves Much of hat refs ‘wl outast any grave marker pharaols pyramid or moder sk: recognizable twenty thonsard yeas frm now is the potato chip ‘ag (And na thse new bindograable plastic botes and bags tended osave the day so far havent saved much of anything Tuas ‘oenanaicrarers fed to eheck wheter teilab-tested degra lity i compatible withthe real-world network of oa compos: ters and recyclers across the maton Most. thy nt") ‘Ando the wash al ont grows: The nvronmental Protection Agency estimates hat beteeer 1960 snd 20, he sverape Are ‘cans day wash oad increased by ahied Te ference between ‘now and 160i even greater a east double te per capita wash utp American ave“wo the word teh derby witoat ely ‘eying, making 2 leas 50 percent more garbage per person than er Western econmie wit sar standard of ring (Gerry Auris and Deamack among tier), sn beneen tro an tree times the trash output ofthe Japanese. Amerte’s production of ste exceeds past projeedons of previous generaons who ted to estimate bow wastfl thir aren fist centary counerpars ‘woul be. The furit marketers behind the 1968 Wena Pir ‘Now York fl they were belng ay conservative when they but scale models of the leming fate cgcaper ee were supposed‘oe iving in by now (over cars and moving sidewalls anyone?) ‘whieh problems of nergy and waste had been solved by tet ogy rater than exacerbate By It Garbage wa 5 ld schoo, se were supposed t have scenced say that ancient problem ages ago. ‘What noone considered back then and feu acknowledge now) Iswaste's oldest st power qin: Were ected {etams ost oar contemporary econons not to mention th sent incarnation ofthe American Dest 8 inextscably inked © sp endley cclerating cumulation of trish The purchases that ‘ve the markets the products tat prove the dream, all ome Dickage i inva wath (he boxes, wrappers bags, es, ote, ‘8p and laste babble hat contain products). And what's inside that packaging is destined to break, become obsolete get sod up lrbecome unfashionable in afew years moms or even days—in ‘er word apy becoming wath, oa When the tide of garbage ‘pound forthe andl grows fom year to ear, America leaders ‘jee because despite de eomomc and envionment costo ‘rane ie signals the welcome reas hat mere people and bus esses are buying tne su. Thi is why counties with booming ‘economies China being the pine eamplearefanily a= ‘Sing new lanl o ing heroin ee ‘rhage has become one ofthe mos accurate measures of rospeniy in tweny-atcenary America ad the Wri "The oposite lds true as wel When the lines of garbage ‘ouch headed to Ameri’ anils grow shorter as they di in 2008 andthe year that owe, makes or a surersgn that our “Aisposible economy is headed for recession thn a plunging Dow Jone Indus Averngeo alin dalle No stockbroker could ‘out prei the sal dozer and compactor operat wh saw the bubble bursting ahead of everyone Presidents used 1 fet that Americans di not save enough. Now they worry whan we do at shop enough, te modem cre fr recension an pono cs ‘pitied by President George W Bushs alto Americans inthe veake ofthe 9/1 tack ogo out ad spend more money forthe oof the county Tis prevaling viewpoint tit ors spending ‘tos a powerful societal and economic undertow tht fuels Amer sea parageadaicion ‘Wan aliment that notes in anything kets current orn for999 percent of human history Todays houder perform ind of pub servic, eting us ste what our tre lesa look ike ‘Otterwiethoe 102 ton emain virtual invisible tobi to see. We ck piees of tin the can evry day. push tout tothe ed vary week and then forget about it sf fe gone But that ever ‘vanshing tee her he fac tht hin people do has me cthan thet wast fs connected to evrything: energy fod pl Ion, water nett pote climate economies. Trash noting lees han the ulimate Jens on Ou ves ou rors. ns, cour ecrts and car ris. ‘One cut eer sxbig ruck ithe US ie azarbage rack Tie yeu lade would 2 ine of racks stretching aly he ‘moon-The creation of product and packaging that end wp in those ‘eucks contbutes4¢ percent the greenhouse gas emieion at Ave gobl warming nore than any ther carbon spewing ae ser? Garhage cout ae staggering: Now York City alone spent £22 for transporting i ctzen' wath by tain and treck—12.000 088 day-to out-of ate andl some a fara ne hundred miessuey to Boeing 47 jumbo Sts ayo ving 8730 new Hons Chis nt a and ack maraing Imagine an armada of the US. [Arayé mighty Mel Abrams main bate tans ined up bump © ‘pamper for more than & nile That 12,000 ons ane citys rash one very coy da. "Now spall hat about thirty-six tines to gauge hens at guage spend and fo: In yea Americans throw ou Tec 3805 elon tons of eubeiah what he feds cal muna sot waste he stu wo personaly throw way This ann Toad feats roughly equvlent to the eect weight ofthe ene {US aaul popution-eigteen times ove “hls saggsing number i no easy to Sind. because Hk ay ti, Ameria ving in an ofc tat of garage denial The ow Stuck Trash ae Mtns af Tons: TeReaton meme Members, 08 Where On Track Goer The “Rea. he“OftltNurbers ‘Se pare "et hk taisticalbibte of municipal wate put out annually bythe av ronmental Protection Agency—accepted for deca asthe gubage ‘old standard by policymakers and media alke—scandalouty derestinates Americ’ trash by relying on Wyeatine smatons sequin er in cn fg ns the process It urs out that bscure but fr more accurate sen ‘ie srveys made joint by Columbia University and the journal Bicycle revea that we're sending tice as much wast to lands 25 the EPAS culations let on, an vcjelng proportionately far Jess than the rosy ficial sas sugest-The HPA reports a hi of ur wash gets recy or composted. but the real-world urestrata milestone thatthe supposed gold standard incorrectly a etapt ea an halo the eth Was nour ect coma Conning a the waste anspor exacted, bared. Pup ted and she int he sewage sytem by aon bball of Seer amencan man, woman adc, aswel ab what’ otc ot Sys indusey moder to make the products American consume, Tuisasns te por capa garbage callation consist. By 52h nals scounting evry person in America stands 9p ore han tos of waste a year~oF@ stagrsing average fine et ust, acount for nery 25 percent ofthe wor Waste mn hee the wale ve Trash is uch big part of aly tok vere product tesh wood supa everything ese we ‘ats the secret behind the tory of Zhang athe sor oarer one whos mired ater tan ped in 2005, she Beene page forty-nine Cas ist woman bilonsice In 031 sb wat tot Chis op female mansacaer and Ameria geet erie ta Cina of either gener) Her export: AMS ERE the twenty cenary + Horatio Alger fora dspesble econo crackdown of 1909, she left China forthe Los Angeles subszb of her apartment Te eo workforce at fe consisted of Zhang and hor new husband Tuwanese migrant trained 2s 2 deta ur eon. They would rive around the Las Angele Basin in an old ‘Dodge van visting landils andther sorting and recyling tations, ‘egung for serap paper Leareing English as she bit he busines, “ean carries of east secure a staty source ofthe wae paper sa bargain price Thore was no shortage of matertal Then ftonped at iandfe American usinsees considered much ofthe ‘upand Chinajeined th bal economy nearmes hare wa noe ‘mous demand for cardboard to package and Yo the gods hat Cina nad begun t produce The sap paper Zhang amasted wns just what the Chine factories needed they rel l she ‘old send hem, Boctse cargo ship were coming io Americ fom ‘barain-basemen shiping cost ternative land Angles Ne Yer and Clog tthe voracious demand “Chit‘ras probably Bit too modest The daughter ofa Re Arty ottcer imprisoned daring China's Cultural Revolution, she man ged to nee an opportunity tat American entrepreneurs ad ‘sted. She filed Chin's paper nods so thorough hat Devin ‘lng in he yer 2000 and every ear ince her company. Asi (Ching Nam hus bee the top US exporter China mumbo of Cage containers shipped~and te largest serap-PAPEF compan Iie word an empire of trash but fom serach, She wed Me uringe~and America’ sray—to launch what i now China Jargst cardboard anvfacrer Nine Dragon Paper by 200,86 wae worth Sion “2hang i «big part of & simple but rarely acknowledge fet bout America’s plac inthe wenty-iret-century gobs economy “rath has become one ofthe moet eae products made i the USA. Not computers Not cars. Not panes or misses any oer mafectured product our mountains of waste pape snd soed Cardbourd and crashed eer cans aad junked electronics hat he rest of he werd coves ‘tn 20%, Citas number one export tothe US was computer quent aboot 50 illon wort" Ameri two highest lune ‘poe to Cina were paper waste and scrap mata ite mone ‘an 8 ilion worth ofbundled old newspaper rose arbor, rusty steal and mashed beverage ans Soldat rock-botiom paces ‘Znan's Amerie Chung Narn exported mare tan thre Mende ‘bound erg contalner: of scrap paper to China in 2010 Overall the fastest-growing extegnry of g2ods exported o Cina i “Scap td Trash increasing 946 perceatbecseen 2000 ant 2008 Ci ‘bee manafactrers promplly develop new an aggressively Pied Consumer produts ae fom twas which they hen eT B80 {fo American cnstmers teat rot, so we ca rash ial 2585 tn ayearor te and send bck nce more for pennies onthe at- lar Waste.tseems s becoming one of our greatest contributions 0 he iba coma Somehow without ator pllor any explic decision ypees- ‘ents or egsitors or vours to do so Amara, a county hat once ‘ult tinge forthe rst of he world, has tanformed itself nt (Cina ath compacor ‘his sobering economic realty s mirrored by teling obser tin from ofa sources Ameren’ atonal comp There a nly ‘oman de srctare age enough be deniable without ington rom eth ort Pst, hee the mighty Gra! Wal of Cina in the East syael ofa past power sea again And nthe Wes. here a newer thing. the rim amed Preh Ks recogni ae above al other things American ‘reo Hs the wor’ argest own damp the recent ut ‘ere repository fora half entry’ accumulation of NewYork iy enrage Are arreers to understand the 102-4 agaey—and what a ( non) be done about thas to begin with anewers to tzee very asc yetzerely pose) questions Asithappens these are the same ‘rome fey wish to change their rash-laden circumstances Net comes the soul-searching queson: How sit posible for people to creat o mich waste witout intending fo do eo een realizing they ae doing i? Pals there's the “what next” question: Is there away bckProblem, investigation, sfuon: Is the casi threat con struction that the human brs hasbeen hardnze to pefer~and {good an organiing pnp a ny fora book about ash Tree ‘setions free trad quetons each equally important bu it the ‘hia pce of the tory he quest or away back, thats key Ths ‘he question that allow the 12-ton story t became a voage of scorers. fering the post tat all those tons of garbage night bea choice ute han an evtabity—and an opprtnity aswell at bane Thats the question hat offers the post of bappy ending othe story of trash ‘Ot enoagh ts the Rourers, once agin who cn help shoe 1m fe way back The Gastons understood far beter than thelr eighbors fat our prevailing deSison of waste sll wrong They $a that putting sormething in he tas ot realy a mater of ‘dsponng of wast of something wit no Yalue Trash oem isthe ‘hyseal mafetton of wartfunes. The headers respons ‘hs essential insight ae really teasresquandered—is twisted and unbeaten to place value on garbage ‘Ssound andanne Oferure the ore constructive response would ‘enottohoard, butte nd ways toatl the waste acumsaton {nthe fist place Tate ret challenge. he May gral hat has so fr eld mnnkin, dating all tbe way back to Se Ast ows (ump and ani-iering nw a ancient Greece The upside of is ‘plture Tere i sel bat growing mumber of businesspeople, ‘evronentaliss commie an families wh se nour Wash the bigest untapped opportunity of the cent, ‘These trash opis ange from te cy of Porand which ‘maybe the eat wastefl ty in Ameria, to TeraCya the Ds ‘bess champion of upeyeing” he euse/repurpose opp ore ‘eng ote Wath ats of San Francisco and he trash rar arvaré Unversity who each yer turn the ttfmadents abandon ‘nthe dors ine one af the bigger snd mor rocesfal yard sles ‘in America. And there's the Johnson family who proved they could lean outwardly normal year and yet produce onl «mason jr all otras, ‘Bea Jonson. Marin County California artist who set he fam {yf four on this quest wonders what would have happened the ‘massive infasuuctre America has constricted deal wih ash ‘had teen predicated all slong on avon waste and ecaptsing sts ale rather than transporting burying and occasional eey> ‘ingits ee quate Would Ameria sil be evobingint Chinas trash compactor? Would there even be a 102-on leg? “What ‘woul fe loo ike ten?" he mses, "What wold it mean forthe ‘cmon, forthe ene wot?” Johnson iol rae more abot he ash eplphany ae) the ‘opponte of hoander—she' l about eeidng te accusation of things particularly disposable things and living the ancatered Me. O as she eas the urate ite, She saps people ven ‘ends question her sani bu he Johnson fay has covered ‘hat generating less waste tansttes into more money lst debt ‘more leisure tine less tees When they eve it ey don te ‘hings—they give experiences No wrapping paper requred She says they never been apes. "wien you top warng everthing change” she says "hates aeay back And ican work or ay can worker county could be te answer weve all Been wating fx"AY AMERICAN ANMUAL WASTE SAMPLER 157 mon ton of age st a aie oi nl be 19 bilion pus ssn Stam) apa 38bion plat tes {0 ion last Kies, fore an spans Engh urn ld te erie commer eet Enough nia fet 0 milion aes fe erty Yeas rough lt in sinew Tos Paste wat i so plenil and 20 cares rates that parent the wot sappy is sed to ake ad ans pt cisestle pasts ‘Groin siping ad lingo etna be row nay es more ery han scat poueed ty tse of PART THE BIGGEST THING WE MAKE ‘our witingnss to parti someting ‘ere er eompletiy woe ot it roger aha ult apn san