Our Plastic Problem: A Call for Global Solutions

Author Megan Durnford makes the call for solutions very personal in Our Plastic Problem: A Call for Global Solutions. Beginning with the use of the possessive adjective “our” in the title, Durnford goes on to open the book with a story about herself.

When I was growing up in the 1960s, plastic was considered a miraculous material. Plastic made life easy. Why would you wash, dry and iron a fabric tablecloth when you could wipe a plastic tablecloth clean? In fact, this ultramodern material was so exciting that most mothers (and yes, it was mostly women in those days) in our neighbourhood regularly hosted and attended sales parties for plastic food containers. (p. 6)

Durnford invites readers to “Join me for a journey through our plastic world to explore the good, the bad and the big questions about this remarkable substance”. (p. 7)

Although the title, Our Plastic Problem: A Call for Global Solutions, clearly identifies plastics as a problem, “Chapter One: Miracle Material” presents many important uses of plastic that have made the world a better place. For example, elephants are no longer hunted for their ivory to make billiard balls; celluloid made movies possible; more premature babies survive now that they can receive food and medication through very thin plastic tubing. But even in this chapter of pros for the invention of plastic, problems are foreshadowed.

“Chapter Two: Plastic Forever” addresses one of the major problems - plastic does not biodegrade. “All the plastic that has ever been manufactured is still part of our world today.” (p. 16)

“Chapter Three: Global Problems Need Global Solutions” makes it clear that plastic pollution is a world-wide problem. No part of the planet is immune from the effects of plastic - not land, air, nor water. The scope of the problem is immense and was only made worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Every year the world produces 450 million tons (408 million metric tons)
of plastic waste. About half of it is single-use waste.” (p. 24)

“Chapter Four: Beyond Plastic” looks at replacements for plastic, such as bio-plastics; improvements in recycling programs; as well as better ways to reduce and reuse. Fortunately, there are examples from around the world of ways to do things better.

Again Dundford makes it personal. One of the sidebars is titled “Beeswax Wrapping”, which shows a picture of her daughter grating beeswax to create her own beeswax cloth to replace plastic film for food wrapping. (p. 36)

The focus of Our Plastic Problem: A Call for Global Solutions is to emphasize the world-wide scope of the plastic problem without overwhelming young readers. The final page of text is titled “What Can You Do?” Readers are encouraged to “all join forces and work together to improve our relationship with this unique material”. Twelve photos with text give readers examples of actions that they can take to make a difference.

This review is based on a Advance Reading Copy of Our Plastic Problem: A Call for Global Solutions. “Resources” and “Glossary” are included in this review copy with space for an “Index” which is blank in this review copy.

The one shortcoming of this book is its reliance almost entirely on stock photos. The photos are plentiful and well-chosen to support the information presented. With a good index, students will find Our Plastic Problem: A Call for Global Solutions a useful resource for learning more about both good and bad aspects of plastic, but the overall appeal of the book could be greatly improved with some graphs, charts, maps, and colourful artwork.

Choose this book if you need an age-appropriate book specifically about plastic pollution with both global and Canadian content.