Total Garbage by Edward Humes Named Winner of Penn Libraries Book Prize in Sustainability

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries is pleased to announce that Total Garbage: How We Can Fix Our Waste and Heal Our World by Edward Humes (Avery, 2024) has been named the winner of the 2025 Penn Libraries Book Prize in Sustainability. Humes will discuss his work and the stories behind Total Garbage at a ceremony on October 15 during Climate Week at Penn.

“The Penn Libraries is committed to empowering people with tools and information, as we continue to understand and address key environmental issues," says Alexa Pearce, Gershwind and Bennett Family Associate Vice Provost for Collections & Scholarly Communications. "With Total Garbage, Edward Humes presents waste as both a solvable problem and an organizing principle for meaningful action that everyone can take. The stories Humes tells illuminate local and practical ways to reduce waste and improve quality of life at the same time.”

Described as both "engrossing" and "convincing" (Kirkus Reviews), Total Garbage addresses a provocative question: What if climate change, plastic pollution, and the energy crisis are driven by a single enemy — waste — and it’s something we can fix? Through story-driven narrative and thorough investigation, this book exposes the waste in our daily lives and demonstrates how to replace waste with prosperity, joy, and health.

"This award is such a terrific honor, but it truly belongs to the people and communities around the country whose sustainability stories are told in Total Garbage, living proof we are neither hopeless nor helpless,” Humes says. “Whether they are cooking with volts instead of gas, rejecting plastic and using glass, or planting vegetables instead of grass, they show us endless ways each of us can help heal the planet — and that the small steps that add up to big progress aren’t sacrifices at all. They’re upgrades."

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and narrative nonfiction writer, Edward Humes has written about topics that range from the justice system to science, nature, and sustainability. His sixteen previous books include Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash, The Forever Witness, Mississippi Mud, and the PEN Award–winning No Matter How Loud I Shout.  

Now in its second year, the Penn Libraries Book Prize in Sustainability — presented by the Lynn Family — acknowledges outstanding contributions to the global discourse on environmental sustainability, with a specific focus on books that have a substantial impact on the public's understanding of these crucial issues. Winning authors receive an $8,000 cash prize and present their award-winning research during a ceremony and book talk on campus.

In fostering a deeper public understanding of sustainability, the book prize echoes the broader goals of the University of Pennsylvania to contribute to a better and more sustainable future for all. The prize also reflects the deep emphasis the Penn Libraries places on preparing students to address the complexities of a rapidly evolving world.

A panel of jurors representing academia and the private sector reviewed submissions and selected this year’s prize-winning book: Daniel Cohan, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University; Sara Cronenwett, Senior Vice President, Corporate Environmental Sustainability, Comcast; Michael E. Mann, Vice Provost for Science, Climate Policy, and Action, University of Pennsylvania; and Julie DiNatale, Executive Vice President, Adaptation and Resilience Solutions, OCP Nutricrops; along with Brigitte Weinsteiger, H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director of the Penn Libraries, ex officio.

In addition to Total Garbage, the jurors also recognized the following shortlist finalists: Climate Capitalism: Winning the Race to Zero Emissions and Solving the Crisis of Our Age by Akshat Rathi (Greystone Books); Into the Clear Blue Sky: The Path to Restoring Our Atmosphere by Rob Jackson (Simon & Schuster); and The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil-Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It by Genevieve Guenther (Oxford University Press).

Learn more about the Penn Libraries Sustainability Book Prize and register for the ceremony and book talk. Copies of the prize-winning book and all shortlisted books are available for Penn students, faculty, and staff to borrow through the Penn Libraries catalog.