All that Trash: The Story of the 1987 Garbage Barge and Our Problem with Stuff

This true account follows the Break of Dawn, which departed New York City in 1987 carrying 3,186 tons of garbage intended for North Carolina. Its owner hoped to use methane from decomposing waste for energy, but North Carolina and other destinations refused the cargo. After traveling about 6,000 miles over five months and becoming entangled in a court dispute, the barge returned to the New York area. A judge ultimately ordered the garbage burned.