A U T H O R Kirstin Linnenkoper
22
‘Secondhand’: an ode to
the global treasure hunt
The world is filled with more things than at any given time in history. That’s what
Adam Minter, author of Junkyard Planet (2013), had in mind while writing about
the scrap trade over the last two years. Following the sudden loss of his mother,
he asked himself the question; ‘what happens to our stuff when we are gone?’ His
second book, ‘Secondhand’, paints a detailed picture of the afterlife of our earthly
possessions.
as the one his mother owned.
More valuable items, such as used
electronics, are likely to find a second
home in Africa or Asia. Minter trav-
elled to Ghana, which is one of the
world’s biggest markets for used
goods. In the country’s third largest
city, Tamale, the ratio of repair work-
shops and restorers to retailers is
almost 100 to 1.
Minter is eager to dispel the myth that
Ghana, and especially the notorious
area of Agbogbloshie (largely a car
junkyard), is the world’s biggest inter-
national dumping ground. He esti-
mates that upwards of 80% of e-scrap
in Ghana is generated domestically
and not imported.
Having visited its many scrap process-
ing sites, he doesn’t agree with the
term ‘primitive recycling’. This, he
stresses, is based on an antiquated view
of local practices and completely disre-
gards the hard work of Ghana’s self-
trained refurbishers and parts traders.
Tracing used goods from point A to B,
and onwards, is easier said than done.
As Minter points out, there is barely
any hard data on this specific topic,
with used cars being the only real
exception. Even then, exact numbers
get a little ‘fuzzy’, he says.
The problem is that lots of people
means lots of stuff. World Bank data
says we humans are on track to gener-
ate waste at a pace more than double
that of the population growth until
2050. Minter, who is born in
Minnesota and is currently living in
Singapore, points out the US is home
to at least 54 000 mini storage sites.
Much of the knick-knacks are destined
for garage sales or thrift stores – such
NO.
ONE-W
AY PRO
DUCTIO
N.
YES.
TOP QU
ALITY R
ECYCLI
NG.
How can
your re
cycled p
roduct m
eet perm
anently
increasi
ng
demand
s? With
the CHT
range o
f high pe
rforman
ce proce
ss
solution
s with e
nvironm
ental re
lief for t
he wet c
hemical
cleaning
. We sup
port you
directly
on site
and ens
ure your
quality c
ontrols
in our la
boratori
es with
state-of
-the-art
equipm
ent. Thu
s, your s
trong po
sition in
the gro
wing ma
rket
is confi r
med day
by day.
More a
bout us
at www
.cht.co
m
CHT_Anz_Recycling_210x148_180302.indd 1 12.03.19 09:55
www.bollegraaf.com • [email protected]
www.bollegraaf.com • [email protected]
22-23_adamminter12paginaad.indd 22 01-10-19 09:34
