Saturday, 2/28/26 at 3:00 PM ET | Join Judith Enck at the Book House in Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany
WHAT: Join Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics and veteran Times Union reporter and political columnist, Fred LeBrun to learn more about the new book, “The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late.”
WHEN: Saturday, February 28, 2026 at 3:00 PM ET US
WHERE: The Book House
1475 Western Avenue
Albany, NY 12203 (map)
The Book House is still located in Stuyvesant Plaza but is now in a gorgeous, new storefront, just down the sidewalk from its former home, right next to Sur le Table.
This event is free and open to all!
There will be books available for sale at this event and Judith will bring her favorite pen to sign your copy. ✍️
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Plastic is everywhere — wrapped around our food, stitched into our clothes, even coursing through our veins. What began as a marvel of modern science has become a toxic industry that is harming our health, polluting our planet, and driving climate change. According to a recent report in The Lancet, the world is in a plastics crisis, causing disease and death from infancy to old age, and covering the planet with 8 billion tons of plastic waste. Without bold new laws, these problems will only worsen. Plastic production has increased exponentially since single-use plastic’s start, from 2 million tons per year in 1950 to 450 million tons per year today. And production is expected to triple by 2060. Given that less than 6% of plastic is actually recycled in the United States, all that plastic will continue to harm us, our communities, and our environment.
The good news is there’s still time to turn off the tap and live in a world without pointless plastic. That’s the hopeful message at the heart of the new book, “The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late” from The New Press by Judith Enck and Beyond Plastics with Adam Mahoney.
The plastic pollution crisis is massive, systemic, and urgent. But “The Problem with Plastic” offers hope: We, collectively, have the power and influence to effectively slow the production of plastic. Plastic pollution is not inevitable; it’s the result of choices made by businesses, governments, and, to a lesser extent, everyday people. By equipping people with knowledge, hope, and an arsenal of solutions, we can put people and the planet before plastic, and save ourselves while there’s still time.
Join co-author Judith Enck on Saturday, February 28 at 3 PM for a free book talk at the Book House’s brand-new storefront in Stuyvesant Plaza just down the sidewalk from their old location, right next to Sur La Table.
Judith Enck is the founder and president of Beyond Plastics, whose mission is to end plastic pollution everywhere. She was appointed by President Obama to serve as regional administrator in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2009 and served as deputy secretary for the environment in the New York Governor’s Office. She is currently a professor at Bennington College and a regular panelist on WAMC’s Roundtable.
Fred LeBrun has held nearly every newsroom role over his long career at the Times Union: suburban beat reporter, city editor, arts editor, restaurant critic and, for two decades, metro columnist. He retired in 2008 but continues to write regular political columns.