Living Without Plastic

September 21, 2020
Bloggers Allen and Wong present an eye-opening guide on how to lessen one’s dependence on plastics. The authors make a strong case that consumers can’t recycle their way out of plastic’s deleterious effects on the environment, so a total rethink of habits is necessary. They offer substitutions for almost every type of plastic one can think of—and some plastics that one may not think about at all, such as Scotch tape and chewing gum, in place of which rubber adhesive and cellulose can be used. Among the alternatives are recipes for hair spray, water filters, and watercolors alongside photos of ingredients and creations made from all-natural products. Knowing how to sew opens up many options, since one can make gauze pads (sewn cotton scraps) to replace those blended with plastics, plastic wrap (recycled fabric with a DIY wax coating), and other solutions with ease. Though some claims about plastic’s harm to a person’s health (such as that plastic within a sippy cup can be “absorb through the baby’s skin”) could use more robust scientific explanations, readers will walk away convinced of the harm the proliferation of plastic causes people and the planet. This is a clarion, convincing wake-up call to the scope of the global plastic problem and what readers can do about it.