THE PROBLEM WITH PLASTIC

An exposé of the plastics industry warns of the damages done to human beings and the planet.

Enck and her environmental advocacy group, Beyond Plastics, have put together a heavily footnoted book that details the many ways in which plastic is harmful to the environment and to human health, from the presence of microplastics in the ocean to the adverse impact on communities where plastic is produced, to the dangers of incinerating plastic. Much attention is paid to plastic recycling as a false panacea “designed to make us feel better.” With a tone that varies, sometimes in a single chapter, from term paper to peppy exhortation, the book shows certain signs of authorship by committee. And it’s not always clear who the intended audience is, with sentences like “Once upon a time millions of people lived on a planet called Earth and—get this!—survived without plastic.” As a manifesto, it’s certainly dramatic. Although it does pause occasionally to point out actions that individual consumers can take—shop in bulk at food co-ops, “avoid single-use plastic water bottles”—the primary villain here is not the average citizen but “fossil fuel, chemical, and plastic companies.” The book contends that “the most powerful change comes from pushing for governmental regulation of plastic.” Providing documentation of small-scale success on the local level, it offers multiple links to forms. “This is a long process,” the authors write, “but we know that citizen action works—it’s how we removed lead from gasoline to safeguard children’s health….We can do it again, but it will take collective effort and persistence.” While it’s hard not to wonder whether the campaign might skew more idealistic than realistic, the authors’ goals can’t be faulted. No one will come away from the book doubting the importance of limiting plastic.

A call to action that could be stronger—but is hard to dispute.