Birds stuffing their bellies with plastic. Turtles getting stuck in bags. We've all heard that trash is destroying nature. It seems far away, but trash lives right next to us. It's creeping right up to cities, and right now its smell can burn someone's throat. There are microplastic particles in the water, and toxic dioxins in food. People are unhappy—Russia is suffocating from trash. However, everything is changing: a waste reform is underway in the country. But what will its results be?

Journalist Andrei Yakovlev learned all about our trash: he visited landfills and sorting stations, spoke with environmentalists, officials, and entrepreneurs. What happens after you throw unwanted items in the bin? What are the threats posed by the smoke and ash from waste incineration plants? How is the government fighting activists? And why isn't recycling profitable for it? 'Wasteland' combines journalistic research and the inner journey of a man wondering how we should live with our waste.

Author: Andrey Yakovlev
Publishing House: Individuum
Year: 2021
Number of pages: 288
Cover type: Paperback
Age group: 16+