Plastic built the modern world. Where would we be without
bike helmets, baggies, toothbrushes, and pacemakers? But a century into our
love affair with plastic, we’re starting to realize it’s not such a healthy
relationship. Plastics draw on dwindling fossil fuels, leach harmful chemicals,
litter landscapes, and destroy marine life. As journalist Susan Freinkel points
out in this engaging and eye-opening book, we’re nearing a crisis point. We’ve
produced as much plastic in the past decade as we did in the entire twentieth
century. We’re drowning in the stuff, and we need to start making some hard
choices.
Freinkel gives us the tools we need with a blend of lively anecdotes and
analysis. She combs through scientific studies and economic data, reporting
from China and across the United States
to assess the real impact of plastic on our lives. She tells her story through
eight familiar plastic objects: comb, chair, Frisbee, IV bag, disposable
lighter, grocery bag, soda bottle, and credit card. Her conclusion: we cannot
stay on our plastic-paved path. And we don’t have to. Plastic points the way
toward a new creative partnership with the material we love to hate but can’t
seem to live without.
"In a world glutted and fouled with fake plastic crap we never missed during nearly our entire history, Susan Freinkel's timely book on the subject is the real thing. No animals or children were harmed by its writing, I'm sure -- but,thanks to her diligence, a whole lot of them just might be saved." -- Alan Weisman, author of The World Without Us
"The first step to creating change is understanding, and the first step to understanding anything to do with plastic is reading Susan Freinkel’s compelling, much-needed, and truly brilliant book." -- David de Rothschild, leader of the Plastiki Expedition
"Who’d have
thought that combs, Frisbees and lighters could have such secret histories and
such disturbing futures? Susan Freinkel’s page-turner brings together history,
science and culture to help us understand the plastic world that we have
wrought, and has become part of us. Although we should all worry that plastics
will persist for centuries, Plastic deserves to endure for years to
come."
-- Raj Patel, author of The Value of Nothing
Susan Freinkel has written for the New York Times, Discover, Smithsonian, and Health, among other publications. She is the author of The American Chestnut, which Mary Roach called "a perfect book".
