Plastic: A Toxic Love Story

As a plastic distributor, I like to read books about the history of plastics. As a Colorado resident, and husband to a professional conservationist, I enjoy learning more about environmental issues. I got a chance to do both when I when I recently read the new book, Plastic; A Toxic Love Story by Susan Freinkel. The author decided to spend a day without touching anything plastic. But she didn't make it too far. About 10 seconds, she estimates...since both the light switch and the toilet seat in the bathroom were made of plastic. So she changed the experiment into a list-making exercise and that day she wrote down 196 different plastic items that she touched. Of course, many of these items were non-durable items like plastic packaging. The next day she continued list-making with a similar tally of everything she touched that wasn't at least partially made of plastic. The non-plastic list only made it to 102 items. This led to some reflection and a list of questions, which she attempts to answer in the book. Those questions include: What is plastic? Where does plastic come from? How did we get so many plastic items in our lives without really trying? What happens to plastics after we put them into a recycling bin? Does plastic actually get recycled after it's picked up curbside? How much of the plastic that the typical American discards is ending up in the ocean? Should we stop using plastic shopping bags? Is there a future for plastic in a sustainable world? To explore the answers to these questions, the book is organized into separate chapters about eight common, everyday, relatively non-durable objects that are commonly made from plastic, including the comb, the stackable cafe chair, the Frisbee, the intravenous solution bag, the disposable lighter, the grocery bag, the soda pop bottle and the credit card. Two of my favorite factoids in the book were: In the 19th century plastics were actively promoted as a way to replace ivory from elephant tusks for use in billard balls and to replace hair comb materials that were coming from hawksbill turtle shells. The rapid growth of plastics after World War II had a lot to do with their utility as a way to use the ever-increasing stream of petroleum refining by-products. Overall it thought that the Pro's of this book were: It's a good historical overview of plastic The author acknowledges the paradoxes of the plastic industry There is a good chapter explaining what the recycling numbers on plastic products indicate and where they came from And there's an excellent notes section at the back of the book And I thought the Con's of this book were: No durable plastic items were examined No full-scale solutions for the paradoxes of our huge reliance on non-durable plastic products were identified or examined

This is my first time to review a book on Amazon, and Susan Freinkel's lucid, sparkling prose inspired me to the act. In a work that is both breathtakingly comprehensive and compellingly detailed, Freinkel constructs a succession of lenses with which to inspect this troubling but essential component of our reality today. "Plastic" clarified my instinctual aversion to this ubiquitous, petroleum-based, everlasting enigma. At the same time it revealed the mindbogglingly diverse forms that plastic assumes to enrich, support and improve our well-being. I've spent most of my adult life denigrating this material which lasts forever yet is perversely deployed for short-term, even disposable, purposes. But Freinkel's blend of deep research and personal narrative -- creative, colorful, apt, responsible and truthful -- left me with new respect and informed insight to the questions of production, use and waste. "Plastic: A Toxic Love Story" is required reading for anyone who cares about the world we live in today, and the one we will leave to our children: environmentally, economically, technologically. Brava, Susan Freinkel, for telling this story that needed so much to be told -- and for making it such a shockingly good read.

I'm sure many will appreciate this for the discussion of the various plastics. One section about the plastics found in our bodies and what damage they do was frightening. Another discussed the advantage of plastics in cost of production and shipping against the carbon impact of glass or paper and that was revealing. For me a lot was technical and informative but not very useful. I have a Zyliss salad spinner that I've used for more than 25 years, long before recycling numbers were assigned. With no way of knowing the plastic type, I am not comfortable continuing to use it. I'm not comfortable giving it away for anyone else to use. It can't be recycled. PVC is apparently a problem but there was no discussion about the impact of replacing old metal water pipes with PVC. I've had a rule that all plastic I use had to be re-purposed into art. After reading this, I'm no longer comfortable doing that even using protective breathing equipment. She mentions artist creating from plastic, but not what is safe/unsafe.

Eventhough early plastics have existed long before America started to put them to use in a high volume. Unfortunatetly I like most people want to make reality the old days when toys and stuff were made out of wood, metal, clay, porcelain and other creative ideas. I find the book shines a lot on the people who have over enthusasim for plastic. However I find there is one reality minimize our plastic to as much as possible. Now I understand that is hard but if you read this book it has a mix of people who are aware of what plastic is doing to us and those who are still unaware of what it is doing to our enviornent. Be aware of the dangers of plastic be it cellphones to credit cards however we should to minimize how much we have of it. I think that is what the book is trying to tell us. I also feel the message varies person to person as it should be but I think the people denying the dangers of plastic need to be woken up. However I think Western medicine may need plastics for a long time. Granted there are better ways to make the various things but they maynot last as long as plastic. If we cannot make plastic go away we will have to make it safer and thank the people who came before us and set the example in making it safer. This is a must read for anyone who wants to get into the complex world of why plastics exist and where they came from.

Good read if you’re into this stuff

This is a book that should be widely read and understood. We are in dire need of more public attention to the lethal consequences of our abuse of plastics. We are sleepwalking into an ecological catastrophe. Well done, Susan Freinkel I hope you can make your voice heard, specially by teachers in primary schools, where the children whose lives we are messing up can learn the lesson and start agitating for change.

Being a plastics enthusiast and critic myself (having done my PhD thesis on the chemical and physical impacts of plastics in the environment), I can assure this book includes well investigated information. Freinkel is a great story teller, every chapter was interesting and I even gained some new insights. Great read, highly recommended!

An easy interesting read, most of it you already know. But the history and the importance of plastic to people's lives is quite interesting. Plastic really allows the working class access to the same products the rich take for granted, like water pails, hoses and hair combs - all pretty mundane but prior to WW2 created a much more difficult life. I did think she overdoes the discussion regarding frisbees and plastic chair and their importance.

I like this book as it tells us about everything related to Plastic. It's whole story from the beginning. It also covers various aspects of plastic, even technical.

Yes, I figured this book would make me feel "more" guilty viz-a-viz my use of plastics. I do feel somewhat more guilty. It's a story of the beginnings and spread and replies to the uses of plastics. One will understand the intricacies of the production, uses and "end" of plastics. So San Fran sends a good heck of its plastic to China? Why? Is it a good idea? What are the alternatives to plastic bags? Are paper bags much more environmentally friendly? My favorite section is understanding plastic and health costs. Of course, plastics have a negative externality but what are we learning about all the plastics within each of us? How much damage are we inflicting on pre-mature babies and the number of plastics used to support their early developmental processes? There's one word in this book that continuously irks me, however: "sustainable". From a physics perspective, what is sustainable is pretty darn hard to find. The idea of a sustainable "way" in regards to all kinds of plastics and their uses and management is simply the incorrect usage of the word. "Alternative" is a far more appealing word in many ways. Oh, yea and this book isn't entirely American-centric but it has an American focus. All in all, 4/5.