Eco Read: How to Give Up Plastic - A Guide to Changing the World One Plastic Bottle at a Time (Will McCallum) 2018

 

If only I had read this book when I first started my plastic freak-outs in 2018. Reading it now has soothed my soul and brought reassurances of how much I have managed to achieve despite still experiencing frequent panics that there is still too much plastic in the house (and world), I just wish I had it as a support blanket from the start! So it'll be no surprise that I highly highly recommend this book if you are starting your #BreakFreeFromPlastic journey.

Why I recommend it:

It gives you facts and knowledge in an easy to understand way without being overwhelming. It gives you enough alarm to want to make immediate changes but balances this with an approachable narrative and practical guide to implementing informed changes in realistic stages.

If you take one message from this book it is this: that the problem of plastic pollution is one that affects us all, and therefore one for which we all share responsibility as individuals but also, more importantly, collectively

The start of the book is broken up into four informative chapters:

• A short history of fighting plastic
• The problem with plastic
• Stories of hope and success (yes, really!)
• How can one person make a difference?

Then the rest of the sections are guides to approaching giving up plastic room by room:

• Bathroom
• Bedroom
• Kitchen
• On the go
• Nursery
• Workplace

If you feel inspired to do more it gives you structured advice on how to take your journey further outside the home - using your voice, community work, campaigns and letter writing.

Thoughts overall: 

Will lives, breathes, and works this stuff daily, as Head of Oceans at the time of writing, and now Co-Executive Director for Greenpeace UK, you feel his passion and trust is guidance. He makes the idea of giving up plastic accessible, seem realistic and impactful even down to a singular individual level. 

The aspect of the book I found the most reflective was around demonstrating situations where plastic actually has a positive and sometimes crucial part to play particularly in supporting those with disabilities and other instances where plastic improves quality of life and independence. It was a humbling reminder that not all plastic is bad; it is how it is used and disposed of responsibly that is important to remember.

A recurring theme I read, see and hear, with this book certainly no exception, is that there is only so much we can do to reduce plastic use and consumption. It is clear that one of the key messages is that we need to stop producing so much of it. In November 2024, Greenpeace reported that in 2023-2024 Turkey had seen a 60% increase in waste exports from the UK. Until I read this I didn't even know that the UK shipped waste to other countries to deal with it because the UK simply cannot cope with the amount of waste we produce, like many other countries we just dump it on another country to deal with. And who knows how they ‘deal’ with it.

This scandal is a symptom of the fact we produce far more waste than we can ever expect to deal with safely or effectively. We have to start taking responsibility and stop treating it with a harmful ‘out of sight, out of mind’ attitude.

Greenpeace.org

My Pledge

Will, I have taken your recommended pledge to cement my commitment to my continuing journey. I pledge to do my best to give up plastic. It's not an easy journey, or a short one, and in many cases it may not be completely possible, but here's me trying to do my best by pledging:

• To refuse plastic wherever I can, such as not using plastic straws, bags, coffee cups or bottles.
• To reduce my plastic footprint whenever possible by choosing non-plastic materials built to last.
• To reuse plastic items like containers where I can’t refuse or reduce them.
• To recycle or repurpose everything else that I can .
• To tell everyone I know about what I am doing to get rid of plastic and encourage them to join me.