In Wasteland (Hachette, July), GQ editor Franklin-Wallis examines what happens to garbage after it’s thrown away.
Why is the problem of waste so often overlooked?
Waste is a gross subject. When I tell people what my book is about, some are grossed out. But it’s an issue that affects everyone. Take food waste—it’s responsible for up to 10% of all carbon emissions. If we can cut that, we can help save the planet and feed billions of people. When put that way, it’s insane how little we’re doing about it.
What do you consider the biggest failures of the waste disposal industry?
Waste is always something we’ve treated as “out of sight, out of mind.” As a result, so much of the dubious activity—dumping waste on the Global South, toxic pollution, etc.—goes on without us seeing it. When we do see it, businesses use greenwashing techniques like playing up their recycling efforts to distract from their own wastefulness and pass blame onto consumers. The thing about waste is that it’s the most visible pollution there is. If we can’t deal with waste, which we can see and touch and smell, how can we expect to tackle the invisible emissions driving the climate crisis?
You mentioned that corporations pass blame onto consumers, how might consumers push back?
Partly by recognizing the truth about waste, which is that the biggest producers are industry. The idea that washing out yogurt containers or buying coffee in refillable cups is going to counteract the billions of tons of industrial waste produced by mining companies is crazy. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t recycle, but it does mean that we should be pressuring companies and governments to take meaningful action. This includes making fewer plastic items, ensuring recyclables are actually recycled, and confronting the idea that the biggest waste is buying stuff we don’t need.
How can individuals combat greenwashing?
By confronting false narratives. Coca-Cola, for example, has been breaking its recycling pledges since the 1990s. But too often we see the big press release about the pledge and forget about it. It’s the same thing with climate change; if we can’t force corporations to stick to their promises, we’re going to be in trouble, fast.
How do you remain positive given the problems you outline?
It’s in meeting the activists and researchers and entrepreneurs on the ground trying to make a difference. I started this book in 2019, and the change since then has been astonishing. The awareness of fashion waste, for example, has hugely changed behaviors and kick-started a global thrifting movement. Huge companies have started talking seriously about zero-waste initiatives.
