Plastic
“Just one word... Plastics.” This classic movie quote aptly describes the world of the modern consumer. For as Susan Freinkel reveals in Plastic, there are tens of thousands of varieties of plastic, and we’ve produced nearly as much of it in the first decade of this millennium as we did in the entire 20th century. Unfortunately for the environment, much of it will last for centuries, so this entertaining yet sobering evaluation of the topic is welcome indeed.
Freinkel uses eight objects to tell her story: the comb, the chair, the Frisbee, the IV bag, the disposable lighter, the grocery bag, the soda bottle, and the credit card. In telling the story of each, she traces the arc of our relationship with plastics, from enraptured embrace to deep disenchantment to the present-day mix of apathy and confusion. She looks at the politics of plastics and how synthetics are affecting our health and planet, and she explores safer, long-term alternatives.
We get a clear look at how polymers comprise plastics, and the myriad of forms into which they are molded—from polyethylene and nylon to acrylic and Styrofoam. Yet aside from its lucid science, the most remarkable feature of the book may be plastic-related trivia. Did you know that Kartell, the Italian company that made the first plastic bucket, sells an all-plastic chair designed by the legendary Philippe Starck for four hundred dollars? Or that the world’s largest Frisbee factory, located in China, produces over 1 million discs per year? You’ll find endless tidbits like these, as well as insights on the approximately 1.6 billion pounds of plastic waste added to the oceans of Earth every year.
Plastic spotlights the material that made the modern world, even as it makes it less safe.
Hardcover : 320 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Pub. Co. ( April 11, 2011 )
Item #: 13-371258
ISBN: 9780547152400
Product Dimensions: 6.0 x 9.0 inches
Product Weight: 18.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
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