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23recyclinginternational.com | September/October | 2019
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.
These entrepreneurs regularly visit
e-scrap collection points in the US and
the trade in used laptops and parts
can easily finance a round-trip lifestyle
between Temale and Vermont. Minter
wonders if there’s a legal solution that
ensures exporters of secondhand
goods are not automatically viewed as
morally suspect?
Entrepreneurs have seen less ‘good
stuff’ arriving in Ghana in recent years
as a result of more efficient recycling
programmes in developed countries.
This also due to a thriving parts busi-
ness in the US, Minter concludes.
The first few chapters are dedicated
to unique businesses such as Empty
the Nest and Gentle Transitions. They
specialise in ‘clean-outs’ – following a
person who is moving to a different
house. The sorted items either go to
family members, thrift stores, charities
or (if the quality is too low) recycling
plants. This chapter provides an enter-
taining look behind the scenes of such
major clean-up operations that,
Minter is happy to report, is nothing
like an episode of the TV show
‘Hoarders’.
The author also touches upon a phe-
nomenon that has gained momentum
in recent years: de-cluttering. In
Japan, he meets a shukatsu counsel-
lor. ‘Shukatsu’ essentially means to
prepare for the end. In 2016, the sec-
ondhand industry was worth US$ 16
billion (EUR 14.7 billion), almost 5% of
the country’s retail market. The job
does require some getting used to,
Minter writes. Clean-out crews
encounter homes where the body of
the deceased has only just been
removed, leaving stains on the mat-
tress or blood in the carpet. In that
sense, the second hand goods indus-
try is right at the core of the circle of
life. Besides the obvious economical
benefits, Minter argues the work is
worth it, as it connects those who
have stuff with those who don’t.
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