Plastic Sucks! You Can Make a Difference

Plastic is one of the problems of our age, but what can we do about reducing how much we use? What are the different plastics currently in use, and how did plastic ever get to be so popular, anyway?

Presented in a funky lime green, black-and-white palette with cool design throughout, this brilliantly useful and upbeat book about the problems we face and what can be done is a real tonic. Starting with useful information about plastics and reminding us that it’s not all bad, Poynter outlines the problems – plastic and microbeads in the oceans, air pollution, deforestation, extinction and climate change – before discussing what has caused these problems and what we can do on a personal level.

There’s a great mix here of advice on changing to bamboo toothbrushes and milk in bottles to learning about eco-entrepreneurs like Boyan Slat (inventor of the “Floater” ocean plastic retrieval system) and Edwin Broni-Mensah (pioneering free drinking water for all). There’s also a great series of interviews with various experts: scientists working in the world of ecology and conservation.

A useful and pragmatic guide for older primary kids, with plenty to get their teeth into. Timely and excellent.