Scrap Yard: Innovators of Recycling Online

What if we could take things that were thrown away and turn them into raw materials to make new things? This basic tenet of recycling sounds commonplace now, but once upon a time, it was true innovation. An innovation that allowed generations of immigrants and native-born Americans to build a global industry.

These scrappers – peddlers, collectors, dealers, scrap yard workers, and brokers – transformed trash into raw materials, small-scale family businesses into global corporations, and immigrants into Americans. This is their story.

Explore the online companion exhibit for Scrap Yard: Innovators of Recycling.

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