I recently finished Plastic Purge by Michael SanClements. The end goal of the book, as suggested by the title, is to help you reduce the amount of plastic in your life. But on the way, there is a bunch of other information: the history of plastics, plastic recycling, types of plastic, etc.
It was this other information that I found particularly interesting. For example, I hadn’t read about the development of plastics before. Apparently the first plastics were made to be replacements for ivory (in billiard balls) and horn (in combs, handles, etc). The author also discusses the recyclability and safety of the different types of plastic, and provides a handy reference sheet for them.
The majority of the lifestyle tips, though, weren’t very useful to me; I’ve already done most of them. For someone who’s just getting started on reducing their plastic usage, the tips are conveniently marked as easy, medium, or difficult, and there are a lot of different areas of one’s life to start.
Overall, this was a quick, enjoyable read. The author has a light-hearted and joking tone, despite the content, and avoids science jargon, which makes the book accessible to a wide audience. Indeed, this book would be a good place to start for people who are just getting into sustainability, and waste and plastic reduction.
Reading books like this always renews my interest in reducing waste! Especially since I was reading it in parallel with Zero Waste Home!
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