An extraordinary exposé of the industry flooding our world with plastic—and now ramping up to
make more than ever “Deeply researched sharply written and totally compelling.” —Elizabeth
Kolbert author of the The Sixth Extinction “It is impossible not to compare Beth
Gardiner’s Plastic Inc . to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring .” —John Vaillant author of Fire
Weather “A breathtaking and revelatory exposé about one of the world’s most reckless
industries—and also a fascinating secret history of the modern world.” —Christopher Leonard
author of Kochland Plastic the foundational material of modern consumerism is everywhere in
our daily lives. But the oil and petrochemical companies making it are hiding in plain sight.
Because for all the vivid coverage of where plastic ends up there is remarkably little
discussion of where it comes from. Today industry is pouring billions of dollars into plans to
double or even triple the amount it churns out even as individuals concerned about plastic’s
out-of-control proliferation try to use less. As Big Oil stares down a future of diminishing
demand for fossil fuels plastic has become its financial lifeline. Award-winning journalist
Beth Gardiner gives readers an up-close look at the plastic industry’s relentless growth its
extraordinary profits its toxic pollution and its hidden role in exacerbating climate change.
Every chapter in Plastic Inc. brings new revelations including: How Big Oil sold us the lie
that recycling was the panacea for our plastic worries even though companies always knew it
couldn’t work at scale The hidden health crisis caused by chemicals in the items we use every
day and scientists’ growing fear that microplastics may pose even bigger dangers How the
industries making and using plastic have wielded political muscle to stop bans on single-use
items like plastic bags while blaming us for the global mess they’ve created—and profited from
That Big Oil’s plastic dreams spring directly from decades of denying climate science and draw
on the playbook of deceit this industry wrote—one later borrowed by tobacco and pharma
companies The characters and personalities behind a hidden corporate and political scandal
perpetuated over decades Plastic Inc. ’s gripping stories will reframe for readers a problem
many of us think we understand but which has deeper roots and greater dangers than we know.
