cover of episode The junkyard economist

The junkyard economist

2024/5/24
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John Ralston是一位经验丰富的旧货处理专家,他通过清理旧房和办公室的垃圾,发现了各种各样的物品,并从中发现了经济价值。他能够识别出哪些物品具有潜在的价值,并将其出售以获取利润。他的工作不仅涉及到废旧物品的处理,还体现了他对资源的责任感,以及对经济趋势的敏锐洞察力。他认为,通过了解垃圾市场,可以了解到许多关于经济的趋势。 John Ralston的生意模式是通过清理垃圾并将其出售以获取利润。他将垃圾分为不同的类别,例如轮胎、黑色金属、有色金属和纸板等,并将其分别送到不同的回收中心进行处理。废旧轮胎的处理既可以带来收入,也可能导致损失,这取决于轮胎的状况和市场需求。黑色金属(含铁)的回收利用可以带来一定的收入,但其价值相对较低。有色金属(不含铁)的回收利用价值更高,特别是铜。瓦楞纸板的回收利用价值也较高,其价格会根据市场需求而波动。 除了回收利用,John Ralston还会通过eBay等在线平台销售一些具有收藏价值的物品。他通过评估物品的市场价值来决定是否在eBay上销售,并会考虑物品的销售速度和市场竞争等因素。他认为,一些看似不起眼的物品,也可能具有较高的价值,需要进行深入的研究和分析才能发现。 John Ralston对垃圾的处理体现了一种对资源的责任感。他认为,自己是这些物品的最后希望,如果不能妥善处理,它们最终会被埋在地下。他通过自己的努力,让大量的废旧物品得到了再次利用,并从中获得了经济上的回报。他对自己能够从垃圾中发现价值,并从中获得乐趣和成就感感到满意。 Erika Barris和James Sneed作为节目的主持人,对John Ralston的工作进行了深入的报道和分析。他们通过跟随John Ralston进行了一天的旧货处理工作,亲身体验了他的工作流程和经济模式。他们认为,通过观察John Ralston处理垃圾的方式,可以了解到许多关于经济的趋势,例如商品市场的价格波动、资源的循环利用以及电子商务的发展等。他们对John Ralston的敬业精神和经济头脑表示赞赏。

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On today's episode, we ride through the streets of San Francisco with a long-time junkman, Jon Rolston. Jon has spent the last two decades clearing out houses and offices of their junk. He's found all sorts of items: a life-time supply of toilet paper, gold rings, $20,000 in cash. Over the years, he's developed a keen eye for what has value and what might sell. He's become a kind of trash savant.As we ride with Jon, he shows us the whole ecosystem of how our reusable trash gets dealt with — from metals (ferrous and non-ferrous) to tires to cardboard. And we see how our junk can sometimes get a second chance at life. If you can understand the junk market like Jon, you can understand dozens of trends in our economy. *This episode was hosted by Erika Beras and James Sneed, and produced by James Sneed with help from Emma Peaslee. It was edited by Jess Jiang. Engineering by Josh Newell. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts) or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney). *Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)