---
product_id: 6747736
title: "Plastic: A Toxic Love Story – An Engaging Analysis of Cultural Dependency and the Resulting Environmental Crisis"
price: "VT9900"
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reviews_count: 10
url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/6747736-plastic-a-toxic-love-story-an-engaging-analysis-of-cultural
store_origin: VU
region: Vanuatu
---

# Plastic: A Toxic Love Story – An Engaging Analysis of Cultural Dependency and the Resulting Environmental Crisis

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- **What is this?** Plastic: A Toxic Love Story – An Engaging Analysis of Cultural Dependency and the Resulting Environmental Crisis
- **How much does it cost?** VT9900 with free shipping
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## Description

Plastic: A Toxic Love Story – An Engaging Analysis of Cultural Dependency and the Resulting Environmental Crisis [Freinkel, Susan] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Plastic: A Toxic Love Story – An Engaging Analysis of Cultural Dependency and the Resulting Environmental Crisis

Review: As a Plastic Distributor I Thought this Book Treated The Subject Fairly and Informatively - 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
Review: an electrifying bit of non-fiction. - This is my first time to review a book on desertcart, 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.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,147,886 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #679 in History of Technology #2,209 in Environmentalism #3,068 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (253) |
| Dimensions  | 6 x 1.04 x 9 inches |
| Edition  | 33068th |
| ISBN-10  | 054715240X |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0547152400 |
| Item Weight  | 7.4 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 336 pages |
| Publication date  | April 18, 2011 |
| Publisher  | Mariner Books |
| Reading age  | 14 years and up |

## Images

![Plastic: A Toxic Love Story – An Engaging Analysis of Cultural Dependency and the Resulting Environmental Crisis - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71k3gJuHs9L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ As a Plastic Distributor I Thought this Book Treated The Subject Fairly and Informatively
*by S***N on October 31, 2011*

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

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ an electrifying bit of non-fiction.
*by L***T on February 15, 2013*

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.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very technical
*by K***M on September 22, 2019*

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.

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*Store origin: VU*
*Last updated: 2026-05-06*