A NEW BOOK FROM JUDITH ENCK + BEYOND PLASTICS WITH ADAM MAHONEY
The Problem With Plastic:
How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late
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ABOUT THE BOOK
Beneath the tranquil surface of the water, a slow-moving crisis is unfolding – one that is quietly, yet relentlessly, reshaping life on Earth.
Each year, millions of tons of plastic make their way into our oceans, hitching a ride from the land through streams and rivers. This plastic doesn’t disappear; instead, it shatters into smaller and smaller pieces, weaving itself into the food chains of marine life.
As the consequences of our throwaway culture become too big to ignore, we’re left with a daunting question: How do we turn the tide?
Press & Media
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The Goop Podcast
Judith shares with Gwyneth Paltrow the true dangers of microplastics and plastic pollution
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Factually! With Adam Conover
A serious conversation with Adam Conover (still, Judith makes the host laugh uproariously)
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Commonwealth Club World Affairs
In front of a live San Francisco audience, Judith converses with KQED Health Correspondent Lesley McClurg
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Vermont's Voice
Green Mountain State podcast welcomed Judith for a discussion on local legislative issues related to plastic
Bring the Book to your Community
Order for
a Group
Discounted bulk ordering is available for groups purchasing 10 or more copies.
Host a
Book Event
Bring the conversation about plastic pollution to your school, organization, bookstore, or community.
Start a
Conversation
Use our reading and discussion guide to dig deeper into the issues and solutions explored in the book.
“This is not a story of each individual's use of plastic -- it's a story of intentional design.
This salient book exposes the environmental racism baked into the plastic crisis, demanding that we name names, follow the money, and change the system to prevent further harm to people and our planet.”
—Dr. Robert D. Bullard,
distinguished professor, Texas Southern University and "Father of Environmental Justice"
Attend an Event
About the Authors
Meet Judith Enck
Judith Enck is the President of Beyond Plastics and former EPA Regional Administrator, appointed by President Obama. Currently, she is a professor at Bennington College where where teaches classes on plastic pollution. She lives in Upstate New York. A dynamic community advocate who has spent her expansive career working to protect public health and the environment, Judith is leading the fight and framing the narrative about the harms of plastic pollution on human health and the planet.
Judith is a panelist on a local NPR public affairs radio show, lives with her family in upstate New York and reports that she has no hobbies but has flirted with cake decorating.
Meet Adam Mahoney
Adam Mahoney is the national climate and environment reporter at Capital B News. Adam has reported from more than a dozen US states and Ghana, Mexico, Palestine, Uganda, and Vietnam. He was the 2025 Writer-in-Residence at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and a 2025 Ida B. Wells Fellow at Type Investigates.
His writing has appeared in The New York Times and The Guardian. He lives in New Orleans.
Meet Beyond Plastics
Beyond Plastics is a national nonprofit with a mission to end plastic pollution everywhere. Launched in 2019, Beyond Plastics pairs the wisdom and experience of environmental policy experts with the energy and creativity of grassroots advocates to build a vibrant and effective movement to save our planet, and ourselves, from the negative health, climate, and environmental impacts of plastics.
Make a Donation
Reducing the production, use, transport, and disposal of plastics is far from a hopeless cause. We feel this in our hearts and know it in our minds. Please support our work and give generously today. Thank you.