Ideas and resources
Plastic is great for a lot of things, from medical equipment to food storage and clothing, but the world has so much plastic (and all the plastic that has ever been made still exists on the planet) that our reliance on it has become a big problem.
Megan Durnford’s Our Plastic Problem: A Call for Global Solutions looks at the good, the bad and the ugly of plastic production geared toward kids ages 9 to 12. It covers the history of plastic production, starting with the development of celluloid by John Wesley Hyatt in the 19th century. Celluloid was used to make things like combs, toothbrush handles and shirt collars (as well as film for cameras that led to movie production).
World War II really began the huge production of plastic products, including nylon parachutes and acrylic airplane windows. After the war, plastics became widely available for household use.
So what’s the problem? Plastics are made from fossil fuels, and require lots of energy to make. Plastic doesn’t biodegrade, but it does break down into smaller pieces, which pose hazards for wildlife and humans alike. It collects in large garbage patches in the ocean, most of which gets there from rivers. And so much plastic is single use, made to be trashed right away, and a lot of it can’t be recycled.
After covering all the problems with plastic, the book talks about alternatives to plastic, bioplastics, recycling and reducing reliance on plastics. There’s a list of things kids and families can do to reduce their plastic waste, resources for learning more about these issues and a glossary of potentially unfamiliar words used in the book.
Our Plastic Problem provides a good overview for middle grade kids on what plastic is, what we use it for, the problems with so much reliance on plastic products and some things we can do to reduce our personal use of plastics.
About the book: 48 pages, hardcover. Published 2025 by Orca Book Publishers. Suggested retail price $21.95.
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Michdelle McInerney
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