Plastic Inc

Plastic is omnipresent in our daily lives. But despite our distress at using it everyday, we often feel powerless to escape it. Because for all the vivid coverage of where plastic ends up, there is remarkably little discussion of where it comes from. Through a shocking investigative deep dive and vivid character-driven storytelling, in Plastic Inc, Beth Gardner tells the story of a vast, rapacious industry hiding in plain sight. From the Gulf Coast of Texas to the rural towns of Indonesia, from the boardrooms to the rubbish dumps, Gardner lifts the rug on the petrochemical companies that make plastics, and reveals the disturbing truth of their origins. For decades Big Oil's masterplan has been to grow plastics in the face of diminishing demand for fossil fuels, and - despite public opinion's call to reduce waste - is preparing to double and eventually triple plastic production by 2050. Gardiner's expose gives readers an up-close look at how the plastics industry has bullied its way into our lives and the global economy. We learn that Big Oil invented the idea of recycling in order to produce more plastic. It funded litter campaigns in order to push responsibility for waste onto the consumer, and put huge resources into fighting plastic bag bans across the US. And with microplastics becoming a huge public health crisis, Big Oil has finally not only forced plastic into our lives but into our bodies too. Plastic Inc is an extraordinary exposé of an industry that will stop at nothing to propel its own greed.