★Rights sold in simplified Chinese, Korean and Portuguese.
★In the final selection of the most important Italian prize for the Public awareness of science: Premio Galileo (2018)
★How is rubbish thrown away on the Moon? And in the bin of the computer?
★Did you know that the white beaches in the tropics are made of parrot fish droppings? And that we put radioactive waste first into a swimming pool and then into salt?
★Strange and interesting facts, but also research, innovation, traditions, art and much more about waste: a problem, but also an opportunity
★English sample available.

This book is an entertaining but scientifically accurate journey to discover the waste we have inside and outside ourselves. Strange pieces of information, but also data, research, innovation and old traditions to reconstruct the history of an idea – that of ‘refuse’ – which over the centuries has been transformed many times. How much food do we throw away? Where do our old fridges end up? Did you know that drinking water can be extracted from organic waste? And how come some countries are buried in waste while others buy it? From our houses to the whole planet, we will discover what and how much we waste, how much what ends up in the bucket, in the sewers or in the landfill is worth and what could be done (or is already done) with it. Because from art to industry, from cinema to the environment, waste is a problem, but it can also be a solution. After all, waste is only… a lack of imagination.

Piero Martin is full professor of physics at a leading Italian university and researcher with the RFX Consortium. He is at the head of a European task force for experiments of controlled thermonuclear fusion, which involves over 300 researchers. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society.

Alessandra Viola is a scientific journalist. In 2016 she won the Wissenschaft Book des Jahres prize awarded by the Austrian Ministry for Science and in 2013 won the First prize for popularizing science awarded by the Italian Book Association for her book Verde Brillante.