Plastic Unlimited: How Corporations are Fuelling the Ecological Crisis and What We Can Do About It

Mah, A. (2022) Plastic Unlimited: How Corporations are Fuelling the Ecological Crisis and What We Can Do About It. Polity Press. ISBN 9781509549450

Abstract

Despite the global movement to tackle plastic pollution, demand for plastics continues to rise. As the world transitions away from fossil fuels, plastics are set to be the biggest driver of oil demand. Single-use plastics – deemed essential in the fight against Covid-19 – have been given a new lease of life. In a world beset with crisis fatigue, what can we do to curb the escalating plastics crisis? In this incisive book, sociologist Alice Mah reveals how petrochemical and plastics corporations have fought relentlessly to protect and expand plastic markets in the face of existential threats to business. From denying the toxic health effects of plastics to co-opting circular economy solutions to plastic waste and exploiting the opportunities offered up by the global pandemic, industry has deflected attention from the key problem: plastics production. The consequences of unfettered plastics growth are pernicious and highly unequal. We all have a part to play in reducing plastic consumption but we must tackle the problem at its root – the capitalist imperative for limitless growth.

• Item Type: Books
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mah, Professor Alice
• Authors: Mah, A.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
• Publisher: Polity Press
• ISBN: 9781509549450