All That Trash
The Story of the 1987 Garbage Barge and Our Problem with Stuff
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
An ALA Notable Book
“The year was 1987 and a ship full of trash was about to become famous…The narrative is immensely readable…A fresh take on a story of old garbage guaranteed to spark conversations and a desire for actions among students. Highly recommended.” —School Library Journal (starred review)
A garbage barge that can’t find a place to welcome it sparks a recycling movement in the United States in this smart and smelly picture book from the author of Earmuffs for Everyone.
Lowell Harrelson wanted to turn trash into methane gas so he rented a barge called Morbo 4000. His plan was to ship the garbage from New York to North Carolina, but as the barge floated down the coast, no state would let him dock because of smelly waste on board! The barge became a mockery and the butt of many jokes in the media. What started as an attempted business venture turned into quite the predicament for Mr. Harrelson.
Mobro 4000 roamed the seas for forty-five days and traveled a distance of 6,000 miles. While awaiting its fate, the trash floated in New York’s harbor, garnering much attention by onlookers. Green Peace activists put up a large banner across the barge that read, “NEXT TIME…TRY RECYCLING.”
Even though the garbage barge was a farce, the unintended consequence inspired America to find a new way to deal with its trash.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stowed, towed, shunned, shunted, guarded, studied, and eventually incinerated: McCarthy (The Wildest Race Ever) looks at what happened to an unwanted barge carrying more than 3,000 tons of New York trash in 1987 in this thoroughly researched picture book account. Her signature big-eyed cartoons and straightforward narrative style recount how the trash was loaded on a barge with a plan to let it decompose elsewhere to produce methane for energy production. All goes awry when no port will allow it to dock. Talking-head vignettes of politicians, newscasters, and the barge's tugboat captain (flies encircling his head) comment via speech bubbles. "Wherever this stuff goes, it's going to be somebody else's problem," says a Louisiana mayor. The discussion of America's "problem with stuff," as referenced in the subtitle, is relegated to the extensive backmatter, which includes details about the barge, the sensation it became, and the aftermath of the events described in the book, as well as information about America's history with refuse and recycling. An entertaining true tale of a smelly saga in U.S. history. Ages 4 8.)
