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Throwaway Nation: The Ugly Truth about American Garbage
Americans are burying ourselves in our own waste. It’s befouling our air, land, waters, food, and bodies. The US tosses out enough foodstuff to feed the rest of the world. America is the largest buyer of fashion and cosmetics, the second dirtiest industry in the world. We lead the planet in transportation usage and waste, and we’re now polluting outer space. Throwaway Nation takes a look at the pileup of waste in the US, including the problem of plastic, the industry of overmedication, e-waste products, everyday garbage, fast fashion trash, space waste, and other forms of profligacy that serve to make our nation the biggest waster on the planet. Looking at the environmental impact of so much garbage, Dondero explores not just how we got here and where we’re headed, but ways in which we might be able to curb the tide.
From what you do and don’t eat, what and how your products are packaged, the rampant production of clothes, the space and waste in which you work, live, what you breath, eat, drink, the tools you use to work and play, the energy overproduced and ill-used for a pleasant lifestyle, the waste you generate, and how humans are beginning to clutter the cosmos—all and more are profiled in the Throwaway Nation—and what we ought to do to prohibit and mitigate the flow of our garbage and to use it productively.
From what you do and don’t eat, what and how your products are packaged, the rampant production of clothes, the space and waste in which you work, live, what you breath, eat, drink, the tools you use to work and play, the energy overproduced and ill-used for a pleasant lifestyle, the waste you generate, and how humans are beginning to clutter the cosmos—all and more are profiled in the Throwaway Nation—and what we ought to do to prohibit and mitigate the flow of our garbage and to use it productively.
296 pages, Hardcover
Published March 15, 2019
15 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 14, 2020
A very important topic, and some important data analysts are presented here, but not especially convincing. There are very few images, and visuals are widely available and essential, and some of the data may be wrong.
Some of the chapters seemed especially miss placed, like the weird section on which philanthropy is wasteful, whether a 40hr workweek is appropriate, and especially how the government is wasting money. Each of these made the book worse. In the introduction, the author self identified as a Boomer, in 2019 no less..., so I guess he felt obligated to prove it with digressions and some odd priorities.
Most thematic sections are short, so very readable, and the author writes concisely with you wasted embellishments or prose. Yes the lists of data would be memorable only with some colorful context.
Dondero claims that he wants to leave us optimistic that something can be done, and I believe him but that is his intention, but the calls to action and ideas for personal change are all woefully inadequate and even cliché.
This topic does need a persuasive and emotionally impactful book. This problem this is both well-known and profoundly grave. Despite the clear research effort and solid editing, this book falls short for me
Some of the chapters seemed especially miss placed, like the weird section on which philanthropy is wasteful, whether a 40hr workweek is appropriate, and especially how the government is wasting money. Each of these made the book worse. In the introduction, the author self identified as a Boomer, in 2019 no less..., so I guess he felt obligated to prove it with digressions and some odd priorities.
Most thematic sections are short, so very readable, and the author writes concisely with you wasted embellishments or prose. Yes the lists of data would be memorable only with some colorful context.
Dondero claims that he wants to leave us optimistic that something can be done, and I believe him but that is his intention, but the calls to action and ideas for personal change are all woefully inadequate and even cliché.
This topic does need a persuasive and emotionally impactful book. This problem this is both well-known and profoundly grave. Despite the clear research effort and solid editing, this book falls short for me
April 8, 2022
Very informative, I'm challenging myself to learn more about this subject and, boy howdy, this book delivers. I appreciated that he covers all the areas of garbage -- land, oceans, space, e-waste, and much more. Ugh. As the subtitles implies, the truth is ugly and I had to "skim" because there is a lot of info, but honestly it is all quite depressing. I focused on a couple takeaways for myself so I can make baby steps.
No pictures, charts, or maps but plenty of source notes and statistics. Read it and weep.
No pictures, charts, or maps but plenty of source notes and statistics. Read it and weep.
September 17, 2019
Everyone should read this. It's tragic how wasteful we are, but the book is optimistic about how we can change things. If everyone made relatively small changes in their everyday lives, I really think we could make a huge difference.
October 10, 2019
This is a comprehensive, well-documented-and scary-review of the kinds and amounts of trash being produced and polluting the environment. America is the focus because with 5% of the world's population, we produce nearly 40% of the waste that damages earth, air, air and water, and even outer space!
We are a nation addicted to buying far more than we need and then dumping it.
There have been 5 mass extinction brought on by monumental natural disasters. The sixth will be brought on by us.
Intensive marketing has fueled a desire for more, bigger, newer and better products-happily accumulated by boomers who pride themselves on recycling.
We are filling landfills, the air and the oceans. More than 80% of air pollution is man made and includes toxic chemicals fro fossil fuels, transport, smelting manufacturing, incinerators, etc. Building materials give off toxic gases-volatile organic compounds - found in new carpets, furniture, flooring, cars.
I personally think the dramatic increase in autoimmune related conditions are related to environmental toxins. These include "dry eyes", asthma, Type 1 diabetes and others.
The top ten areas for air pollution in the US include 6 locations in California, 2 in Utah, 1 in Nevada an one in Alaska.
Waterways and oceans are at high risk. Plastic gyres in the oceans cause death or injury to millions and millions of sea creatures. Acid rain from fossil fuels is another serious ocean contaminant.
Fresh water is wasted in devastating amounts by Americans. While half the world's population lives on 25 or less gallons gallons daily, the average American uses 100-175 gallons!
Land pollution includes mining wast, overgrazing, deforestation, erosion, urbanization.
Dondero dedicates a whole chapter to space junk. Thousands and thousands of pieces-tiny to large have been left behind by NASA and other countries, particularly China. There are some think tanks working on possible ways to remove some of this junk before they can do damage to earth, satellites and other space programs.
Food waste is another terrible problem. The whole system of production, packaging, shipping and wholesale and retail sale is riddled with waste. Much produce is left in the fields because the produces are not perfect, though still edible and nutritious. Another problem in this sphere is the "use by" or "best before" dates which prompt buyers to discard perfectly usable food.
He also comments on "fast fashion". Frequent buying of cheap clothing and discarding anything that may be considered unfashionable a short time later.
Of course there is the paper waste, 93% of which comes from trees.
It goes without saying that plastics are both a blessing and a curse-so convenient--but not degradable. burning produces toxic gases so that is not an option. There is so much excess packaging (much of which requires serious tools to even open!)
Americans are really addicted to their electronic devices, constantly trading older ones in for a newer version. But what to do with the old ones? Fifty-two tons of e-waste are generated annually. Much of it is toxic.
Pharmaceuticals provide another waste stream. There is a pill for every ill and millions of people also take OTC medications, vitamins, supplements of all kinds, most of which are unnecessary and are simply excreted in the urine-and from there into the water waste stream. Water treatments are not sophisticated enough to filter out all these drugs and they are having a noticeable effect on many water creatures.
We need power. Electricity, generated from fossil fuels is something we pretty much can't do without (although there should be much more incentive to develop renewables.) We heat our houses to 70 or higher, and set air conditioners to 68. (Never could figure this one out.) We drive large, gas-guzzling cars, leave lights on, and more.
While the book seems to be a dismal litany of problems, Dondero provides extensive lists of suggestions for improvement in each chapter, including actions that are within the realm of the average citizen . Except for the space junk!
This is really an excellent book. Readable, comprehensive and in the end even somewhat up-beat. I think every American should read it!
We are a nation addicted to buying far more than we need and then dumping it.
There have been 5 mass extinction brought on by monumental natural disasters. The sixth will be brought on by us.
Intensive marketing has fueled a desire for more, bigger, newer and better products-happily accumulated by boomers who pride themselves on recycling.
We are filling landfills, the air and the oceans. More than 80% of air pollution is man made and includes toxic chemicals fro fossil fuels, transport, smelting manufacturing, incinerators, etc. Building materials give off toxic gases-volatile organic compounds - found in new carpets, furniture, flooring, cars.
I personally think the dramatic increase in autoimmune related conditions are related to environmental toxins. These include "dry eyes", asthma, Type 1 diabetes and others.
The top ten areas for air pollution in the US include 6 locations in California, 2 in Utah, 1 in Nevada an one in Alaska.
Waterways and oceans are at high risk. Plastic gyres in the oceans cause death or injury to millions and millions of sea creatures. Acid rain from fossil fuels is another serious ocean contaminant.
Fresh water is wasted in devastating amounts by Americans. While half the world's population lives on 25 or less gallons gallons daily, the average American uses 100-175 gallons!
Land pollution includes mining wast, overgrazing, deforestation, erosion, urbanization.
Dondero dedicates a whole chapter to space junk. Thousands and thousands of pieces-tiny to large have been left behind by NASA and other countries, particularly China. There are some think tanks working on possible ways to remove some of this junk before they can do damage to earth, satellites and other space programs.
Food waste is another terrible problem. The whole system of production, packaging, shipping and wholesale and retail sale is riddled with waste. Much produce is left in the fields because the produces are not perfect, though still edible and nutritious. Another problem in this sphere is the "use by" or "best before" dates which prompt buyers to discard perfectly usable food.
He also comments on "fast fashion". Frequent buying of cheap clothing and discarding anything that may be considered unfashionable a short time later.
Of course there is the paper waste, 93% of which comes from trees.
It goes without saying that plastics are both a blessing and a curse-so convenient--but not degradable. burning produces toxic gases so that is not an option. There is so much excess packaging (much of which requires serious tools to even open!)
Americans are really addicted to their electronic devices, constantly trading older ones in for a newer version. But what to do with the old ones? Fifty-two tons of e-waste are generated annually. Much of it is toxic.
Pharmaceuticals provide another waste stream. There is a pill for every ill and millions of people also take OTC medications, vitamins, supplements of all kinds, most of which are unnecessary and are simply excreted in the urine-and from there into the water waste stream. Water treatments are not sophisticated enough to filter out all these drugs and they are having a noticeable effect on many water creatures.
We need power. Electricity, generated from fossil fuels is something we pretty much can't do without (although there should be much more incentive to develop renewables.) We heat our houses to 70 or higher, and set air conditioners to 68. (Never could figure this one out.) We drive large, gas-guzzling cars, leave lights on, and more.
While the book seems to be a dismal litany of problems, Dondero provides extensive lists of suggestions for improvement in each chapter, including actions that are within the realm of the average citizen . Except for the space junk!
This is really an excellent book. Readable, comprehensive and in the end even somewhat up-beat. I think every American should read it!
May 2, 2019
I thought this was going to be an in-depth expose on the garbage industry, similar to Elizabeth Cline's book on the fashion industry, but instead this book talked about various waste from garbage to resources to wasted time at work.... even to the extreme waste by the government. Some of it was very informative and a few suggestions, like taking baths with friends and family were silly.
I want to give kudos to the author for the disclaimer in the beginning. In it, he admits that not all scientists agree that global warming is real or that CO2 levels are problematic. He also admits that statistics can be doctored or played with and that he is simply reporting them, not testifying as to whether they are true or false. I like knowing that someone can consider both sides of an argument without being extremist or absolute, particularly when there is dissension.
I liked how he showed the waste involved with Big Pharma and the overprescription of drugs. I do wish he would have investigated their biggest snake oil moneymaker, vaccines. Merck is currently being sued by their own scientists for lying about the efficacy of vaccines in order to retain their patents. That's what the current measles scare is all about- selling that back stock before the trial takes place.
The author clearly laid out a lot of waste taking place in the government with ridiculous studies and expenses. He talked about the dangers of overconsumption, single use plastics and other environmental hazards. He exposed the unnecessary killing in animal shelters, along with the sickening methods of PETA, an organization of extremists that literally do nothing to help animals and instead exploit and even kill them. All of this made for informative reading.
There were two major points of waste he didn't cover. While discussing the amount of time and productivity wasted in the workplace, he didn't mention the wasteful world of education. The for profit University system has become the laughing stock of the world, churning out tens of thousands of unqualified workers with nonsense degrees who are incapable of supporting themselves, or even tolerating differences of opinion. Universities also waste gobs of money on sports programs and facilities, even admitting students who can not read, but manage to hold degrees anyway. Meanwhile, intelligent, talented students are attending schools in South America because they can not gain admittance to medical schools or other higher end programs because they don't meet diversity quotas.
The same could be said for K-12 education as well. Our country is filled with bloated school districts, ageing buildings in need of repair and far too many employees, all causing sky high real estate taxes. We should be moving to online education and cut the expenses. We also should be gearing students for trades, tech positions and careers that are needed. Kids should be tested for skills and abilities and given guidance towards real career paths. Education is probably the most wasted aspect of our country, after immigration.
That brings me to my second point. The founder of Earth Day said that we could never truly save the environment as long as we continued to allow immigration. Every year we import millions of people who need an ever widening array of housing and resources, even though we have more people than we need. This is insanity. You can't be pro immigration and pro environment and leftists haven't figured that out yet.
All in all, this book is a good place to start thinking about waste if you haven't yet.
I want to give kudos to the author for the disclaimer in the beginning. In it, he admits that not all scientists agree that global warming is real or that CO2 levels are problematic. He also admits that statistics can be doctored or played with and that he is simply reporting them, not testifying as to whether they are true or false. I like knowing that someone can consider both sides of an argument without being extremist or absolute, particularly when there is dissension.
I liked how he showed the waste involved with Big Pharma and the overprescription of drugs. I do wish he would have investigated their biggest snake oil moneymaker, vaccines. Merck is currently being sued by their own scientists for lying about the efficacy of vaccines in order to retain their patents. That's what the current measles scare is all about- selling that back stock before the trial takes place.
The author clearly laid out a lot of waste taking place in the government with ridiculous studies and expenses. He talked about the dangers of overconsumption, single use plastics and other environmental hazards. He exposed the unnecessary killing in animal shelters, along with the sickening methods of PETA, an organization of extremists that literally do nothing to help animals and instead exploit and even kill them. All of this made for informative reading.
There were two major points of waste he didn't cover. While discussing the amount of time and productivity wasted in the workplace, he didn't mention the wasteful world of education. The for profit University system has become the laughing stock of the world, churning out tens of thousands of unqualified workers with nonsense degrees who are incapable of supporting themselves, or even tolerating differences of opinion. Universities also waste gobs of money on sports programs and facilities, even admitting students who can not read, but manage to hold degrees anyway. Meanwhile, intelligent, talented students are attending schools in South America because they can not gain admittance to medical schools or other higher end programs because they don't meet diversity quotas.
The same could be said for K-12 education as well. Our country is filled with bloated school districts, ageing buildings in need of repair and far too many employees, all causing sky high real estate taxes. We should be moving to online education and cut the expenses. We also should be gearing students for trades, tech positions and careers that are needed. Kids should be tested for skills and abilities and given guidance towards real career paths. Education is probably the most wasted aspect of our country, after immigration.
That brings me to my second point. The founder of Earth Day said that we could never truly save the environment as long as we continued to allow immigration. Every year we import millions of people who need an ever widening array of housing and resources, even though we have more people than we need. This is insanity. You can't be pro immigration and pro environment and leftists haven't figured that out yet.
All in all, this book is a good place to start thinking about waste if you haven't yet.
July 15, 2019
2.5
A useful but very strange book. Useful insofar as it's a useful topic worth exploration. Strange because the author uses a play on the word "waste" (despite the title being garbage) to shoehorn in fiscally conservative arguments about government waste and such while avoiding a whole lot about how important the government is in the project of fixing any of the problems. In fact, he titles a section "It's up to you" (referring to stopping one of the various types of wastes), which is just not true. All of these things will take government or collective action, though individual action is possibly helpful to mitigate some short term damage.
Mixed in with useful facts about the really crushing reality of our affect on the planet, Dondero annoyingly decides to argue things like giving to panhandlers is bad because they'll probably spend it on drugs, workers steal time at work (the framing of which is incredibly irksome to me and makes me want to throw the book), and bizarrely decides to break into 3 solid pages of bulleted points of "stupid things the government spends money on". The programs are devoid of context and ripped straight from listicles posted on The Daily Wire and The Blaze, sites that would likely call the author a liberal communist and call for him to be pushed out of a helicopter for daring to suggest forests shouldn't be clearcut.
It's also just a very dry and matter-of-factly type of book. If you are looking for something more than an extended encyclopedia entry with just a bit of analysis, you've come to the wrong place.
A useful but very strange book. Useful insofar as it's a useful topic worth exploration. Strange because the author uses a play on the word "waste" (despite the title being garbage) to shoehorn in fiscally conservative arguments about government waste and such while avoiding a whole lot about how important the government is in the project of fixing any of the problems. In fact, he titles a section "It's up to you" (referring to stopping one of the various types of wastes), which is just not true. All of these things will take government or collective action, though individual action is possibly helpful to mitigate some short term damage.
Mixed in with useful facts about the really crushing reality of our affect on the planet, Dondero annoyingly decides to argue things like giving to panhandlers is bad because they'll probably spend it on drugs, workers steal time at work (the framing of which is incredibly irksome to me and makes me want to throw the book), and bizarrely decides to break into 3 solid pages of bulleted points of "stupid things the government spends money on". The programs are devoid of context and ripped straight from listicles posted on The Daily Wire and The Blaze, sites that would likely call the author a liberal communist and call for him to be pushed out of a helicopter for daring to suggest forests shouldn't be clearcut.
It's also just a very dry and matter-of-factly type of book. If you are looking for something more than an extended encyclopedia entry with just a bit of analysis, you've come to the wrong place.
May 15, 2024
Robust 3.8
Very very odd book.
Not at all cohesive for each chapter aimed to elucidate the amount of waste the US produces however it’s all done in dry and matter of fact manner. Don’t get me wrong, I was able to learn and reevaluate my own actions but the methods of promulgating were not at all eloquent. Moreover the last few chapters were a bit of a stretch on what to consider trash or waster i.e animals and work hours, leading me to believe that waste is not exclusively about trash.
I will highly laud the author for influencing me to conjugate that it’s not just trash that we need to worry about but rather Pollution. Focusing on trash is minuscule, trash is part of a larger issue which can be condensed as ‘waste’. Likewise, the authors various topics indicate that humans waste a mind boggling amount of resources at all times.
Overall a decent read, short but long due to the odd structure and lack of an over arching purpose that amalgamates all the facts and figures presented.
Very very odd book.
Not at all cohesive for each chapter aimed to elucidate the amount of waste the US produces however it’s all done in dry and matter of fact manner. Don’t get me wrong, I was able to learn and reevaluate my own actions but the methods of promulgating were not at all eloquent. Moreover the last few chapters were a bit of a stretch on what to consider trash or waster i.e animals and work hours, leading me to believe that waste is not exclusively about trash.
I will highly laud the author for influencing me to conjugate that it’s not just trash that we need to worry about but rather Pollution. Focusing on trash is minuscule, trash is part of a larger issue which can be condensed as ‘waste’. Likewise, the authors various topics indicate that humans waste a mind boggling amount of resources at all times.
Overall a decent read, short but long due to the odd structure and lack of an over arching purpose that amalgamates all the facts and figures presented.
June 12, 2019
This book is crying out for an editor. Between odd word choices, confusing grammar, and other problems that would make any high school English teacher cringe, I found it difficult to read.
The two stars is for the complete list of sources at the end of each chapter and some interesting information. There isn't much new here, though some suggestions - such as taking a bath with friends or family - were certainly bizarre.
The two stars is for the complete list of sources at the end of each chapter and some interesting information. There isn't much new here, though some suggestions - such as taking a bath with friends or family - were certainly bizarre.
September 29, 2019
The book had lots of statistics, However while a list of sources are listed, there are not annotations to the specific stats. And some of the sources can be questioned as to their validity. Also, the book would be stronger if there were more ideas as to some next steps, best practices, etc. Finally, some of the chapters discuss topics that don't seem to fit the "garbage" focus. One chapter discussed charities, another government spending, and a third example is the 40 hour work week .
July 30, 2019
I really wanted to like this book. I was very excited about it. However, I’m 30 pages in and there are numerous very obvious editorial mistakes. It makes me not want to read any further. I will try for a bit longer.
February 11, 2023
Just read Adam Minter's book. You'll learn way more. This book feels like he just needed to spew all of the environmental tips and tricks he's heard over the years into a jumble of poorly organized "chapters", most of which have nothing to do with the solid waste system in the US.
December 2, 2025
Overall the book itself is relatively good, its pace and facts keep an audience entertained and provide actual facts that people can observe and understand. It’s a great starting off point but the book itself can feel jumbled and resembles information dumping at times.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2019
A well researched book about what we throw away, who throws it away, and how individuals can make even the smallest dent in the problem. I never imagined some of the problems made clear in this book!
May 31, 2019
Do you feel less guilt about masturbation or divorce? Here's some more guilt from a very moral person.
August 14, 2019
Repetitive. It reads like a college essay in need of editing.
April 8, 2024
This book is really informative, but it can be a bit redundant at times. Overall a solid read 🤷🏾♂️
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews