Quitting Plastic
Clara Williams Roldan & Louise Williams
Quitting Plastic is a quick guide to quitting plastic! Plastic has insidiously invaded modern society due to its convenience and perceived cleanliness. But the throwaway nature of plastic is killing the environment and isn’t sustainable. This is a great book to introduce people to the concept of reducing plastic waste.
First off, there are lots of interesting (and horrifying) facts about the true amount of plastic in the world. Then there are practical and accessible ways to approach quitting plastic. Something I found particularly good was that each tip comes with easy, medium, hard, and ‘it’s personal’ symbols. Just a few little steps can make a huge difference. As per the starfish parable – it makes a difference to that one (original story, story in common use). If one less plastic straw makes it into the body of a turtle, that’s a big deal to that turtle!
For a person like me who has already done a lot (I hope) to reduce my plastic impact (and I honestly feel sick when I see the amount of plastic trash around) this might serve as a guilty reminder that we could be doing more. For example, I should be washing the foil seals of dip containers and putting them in a can to be recycled.
At the time of me publishing this review many councils in Victoria have decided to stop taking recycling – so in fact it’s all going to the tip. So now is a good time to think about the Zero Waste initiative and the five Rs – refuse, reduce, reuse (+repair), recycle and rot. I actually rot quite a lot of paper waste because I have !6! compost bins, but I still have a very full recycle bin.
My co-blogger Kyria has already requested that she be next in line to read and review this book. Her journey to reduce plastic is beginning – and I know she and her family will get lots of helpful tips. Just realising how easy it is to do some of the options is the first step. Pick this book up for yourself, read it, take notes and pass it on to someone else who you know is ready to reduce plastic.
Allen & Unwin | 4th February 2019 | AU$19.99 | paperback
