PLASTICS: JUST A LOAD OF RUBBISH?

By Alicia Chrysostomou

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Encouraged by media stories and government targets, many of us are making well-meaning attempts to forgo the use of plastics entirely in a bid to save the environment. But are we inadvertently at risk of doing more harm than good? Are there other factors in play needing equal consideration?

Plastics: Just a Load of Rubbish examines the history of the multi-faceted material that is plastic and asks some challenging questions both of the material and of ourselves. Could it be that our push for materials that are anything but plastic can actually cause more harm to the planet. Do we in fact need a paradigm shift in our outlook?

Along the way the book seeks to enlighten and entertain with fascinating facts about the much maligned polymers, such as why plastic clothes pegs tend to snap when left outdoors, why some plastics yellow in time and what paracetamol, tarmac and Bakelite have in common.

Alicia Chrysostomou is a Senior University Lecturer at London Metropolitan University on polymer materials. She has lived and worked in various places around the world including Hollywood and New Zealand. She has published a number of journals, and has been consulted by numerous BBC series. She has published unrelated books Strange Superstitions and Curious Customs of the Ancient World and The Chronicles of Cerberus.