Plastic: A Toxic Love Story

Released in April 2011 by Mariner Books | 336 pages

By Susan Freinkel

Recommended by Maya in Yarmouth, ME:

“This book opened my mind as a middle schooler, It's how I learned about the bottle bill, and the history of how plastic came to be so popular. I was fascinated diving into the niche aspects of it, like learning all about combs and chairs and how plastic made consumerism what it is today. It turned normal mundane plastic things that hardly anyone thinks about into items with fascinating histories and backstories that shed light on the implications of plastic for our society. Overall, a great read (and, it doesn't need to be read cover to cover. You can pick and choose sections that interest you). Highly recommend.”

From the Publisher:

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.