Carleton Convo with Adam Minter | October 20, 2023

Bloomberg Opinion columnist and author Adam Minter delivered the convocation address, “How We Think About Waste is a Waste,” at Carleton's Skinner Chapel on Friday, October 20. Minter predominantly writes on technology, emerging markets, and waste, among other topics.

Over the course of his career, Minter has been a correspondent across the globe. From 2004 to 2014, he was based in Shanghai, where he covered transatlantic recycling. He continued his correspondence on the issue while in Kuala Lumpur from 2014 until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aside from Bloomberg, Minter’s work has been published in a variety of publications, including ArtNews and The Atlantic.

Minter’s first book—Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion Dollar Trash Trade, published in 2015—is acclaimed for its thorough insider’s look at the world of globalized recycling. Junkyard Planet has received praise from The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Financial Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Brooklyn Bugle, and Slate. His second book—Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale, published in 2019—takes the reader through the secondhand economy that thrives around the world. Secondhand has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including NPR and The Guardian, and has received praise from a wide array of perspectives, including the Associated Press, Nature, Foreign Policy, Science, Sierra, Recycling International, and Library Journal. 

Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations