Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too

by Beth Terry

Like many people, Beth Terry didn’t think an individual could have much impact on the environment. But while laid up after surgery, she read an article about the staggering amount of plastic polluting the oceans and decided then and there to kick her plastic habit. Now she wants to teach you how you can too. In her quirky and humorous style—well known to the readers of her popular blog, My Plastic-Free Life —Terry provides personal anecdotes, stats about the environmental and health problems related to plastic, and personal solutions and tips on how to limit your plastic footprint. 
Terry includes handy lists and charts for easy reference, ways to get involved in larger community actions, and profiles of individuals— Plastic-Free Heroes—who have gone beyond personal solutions to create a change on a larger scale. Plastic-Free also includes chapters on letting go of eco-guilt, strategies for coping with overwhelming problems, and ways to relate to other people who aren’t as far along on the plastic-free path. Both a practical guide and the story of a personal journey from helplessness to empowerment, Plastic-Free is a must-read for anyone concerned about the ongoing health and happiness of themselves, their children, and the planet.

Genres: Nonfiction, Environment, Sustainability, Science, Health, Self Help, Green

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 15, 2012

About the author

Beth Terry began her crusade against plastic overconsumption in 2007 when she started her popular blog, My Plastic-Free Life (the blog formerly known as Fake Plastic Fish), combining useful information about plastic-free alternatives with personal stories and the occasional rant. A founding member of the Plastic Pollution Coalition, Terry spearheaded the successful Take Back the Filter citizen action campaign and gives presentations on plastic-free living and why, despite what some critics assert, our personal actions do make a difference. Terry is the author of the book, Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too (Skyhorse) and has been featured in the award-winning film Bag It, as well as Susan Freinkel's 2011 book, Plastic: A Toxic Love Story.

Reviews

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much to say.

You can tell the author is used to writing a blog. Many of the sections are probably pulled straight from her existing website. Conversational and personal, she spends a lot of time describing the journey and not just the end result.

That's partly why I found this so reassuring. Because really, as soon as you realize that you are surrounded by plastic, you start to freak out. Beth Terry understands the whole emotional process you go through when you want to make a change in your life and aren't sure how. It is such a comfort.

But don't worry, there are also checklists and interviews and product reviews and science and advocate information, all mixed in together.

I've definitely already made quite a few life changes to reduce my plastic consumption, but this provided the motivation I needed to go further.

P.S. It's annoying to read eco-friendly books written by people who live in California. Ohio is NOT as advanced as California. We do not have nearly the diversity of options. It's frustrating.

Changes I Plan to Make

-Switch to bar hand soap.
-Try to make my own shampoo.
-Start to replace my plastic food containers with canning jars and stainless steel.
-Buy more from bulk bins.
-Take my own containers to restaurants for leftovers.

Things I'm Not Quite Sure How to Deal with Yet

-Cat litter
-Food like yogurt, cheese, fake meat
-Water filter

Favorite Tidbit

Strategies for when you feel overwhelmed by the immensity of the environmental problems we face:

1. Breathe
2. Spend time outside
3. Spend time with those you love
4. Read inspiring stories
5. Write it down
6. Ask yourself what you can do right now
7. Congratulate myself for my progress
8. Make a game of it

[Suzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, so this book was long and hard to get through.... But one of the most inspiring and motivating at the same time! Ha. Heavy on information but also a ton of practical suggestions.

I kind of feel like someone who just watched a fast-food documentary: part disgusted, part in shock, as well as part "so what do I do with that information?"

Notes to self:

-Receipts cannot be recycled
-"BPA free" has proved as bad or worse than regular BPA plastic
-Antibacterial cleaners are not good because they also kill good bacteria, regular soaps are better
-"Seconds in your hand, forever in the land(fill)"... the plastic I buy and use will outlive me!

Things I can do:

-Go on a tour of the local recycling center. Find out exactly what can be recycled and where it's taken (shipped to China?) after it is sorted. Ask about small pieces of recyclable material.. is it even recycled? And what's done with the stuff that can't be recycled?
-Try using shampoo, conditioner, and shave soap bars (LUSH). Switch to bar soap instead of liquid hand soap.
-Look for a good stainless steel water bottle and ice cube tray.
-Try to go to farmers markets and bulk-bin places, call ahead and ask if I can take my own containers.
-Walk to our local bakery and see what they offer and whether they'd allow me to bring my own bread bags.
-Make more things myself instead of buying to reduce packaging waste and save money. Salad dressings, mayonnaise, chocolate syrup, hot chocolate, etc...
-Don't be embarrassed to let people see me pick up trash on the street (plastic goes down storm drains to the sea where mother birds feed it to their young).
-Try using coconut oil as a moisturiser.
-Research safety razors.
-Learn how to use freecycle properly.
-Replace the kids plastic food-ware with wooden or buy some ceramic at Goodwill.
-Once our plastic toothbrushes run out, consider replacing with bamboo.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very positive and non-preachy guide on how to get rid of your plastic addiction. It talks about what plastic actually is, how it's made, and what it does to the environment. Most of the book is a practical guide, though, which was actually great and very realistic and doable.

I would recommend this to anyone who still buys single-use plastic bottles (whether for water or anything else), or still uses disposable plastic bags like it's nothing. I promise you, this book will make you feel like it's possible to change and make some baby steps towards helping save the planet.
I would even recommend this to people who have already taken steps towards removing (disposable) plastic from their lives, because I thought I knew a little bit about plastic and recycling but I was so wrong. (It's a lot more depressing than the image you have in your head right now.)

Please read this. It is so important.

[Mikhaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book a half-inspiring, half-annoying read--but excellent for what it promises to do.

Beth Terry does a great job of chronicling the way plastic has insinuated itself into every nook and cranny of our lives at massive and unsustainable environmental and health cost via her own journey to live as plastic-free as possible. And she provides exhaustive lists of tips and resources for eliminating or reducing or reusing--and sometimes just recycling--plastics in every aspect of domestic American life possible. (Though one of the lessons of the book is, sometimes avoiding plastic means giving up modern conveniences--like frozen foods--that just aren't available in wood or cloth or stainless steel).

And I've already taken her advice to watch the bottled water industry exposé Tapped, and have decided to replace all my toddler's plastic dishes (apparently BPA-free plastics are a dangerous untested crock! crap!) with stainless steel ones from Life Without Plastic... among many other changes. And I like that she encourages reuse and buying second-hand or just NOT buying as much as possible and really thinking about the life-cycle of all our stuff...

BUT! In the end I have fundamental problems with the idea that these kind of changes should be focused on the personal or even community level, or that our power comes from our status as consumers. Not that Terry isn't politically active--and she does briefly delve into the toxic afterlife of American plastics and electronics in the developing world, but ... as I read on I just started to get frustrated with her narrow focus on individual Americans making changes in their own lives...

...because I just can't get all that excited about the Chlorox company deciding to accept plastic Brita filters for recycling. I want to see big, bold dramatic agitation and outrage and change, with corporations and manufacturers and politicians and the military and governments--not just consumers--all held accountable for the massive destruction they wreak worldwide.

But that's probably more than one little book like this can do. Still highly recommended if you're trying to live a less toxic life.

[Siobhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having been a fan of the blog for some time, I had been eagerly waiting for her book to be published and ordered it directly from the author (signed, and in a plastic-free mailer!) as soon as I found it was available. The most concise review I can come up with is this: There is no point in going through this book with sticky-notes or a highlighter, as it's so chock-full of resources, suggestions, and anecdotes about nearly every topic someone who is new to living a plastic-free life could want to know about. For long-time readers there is some overlap from the blog, of course, but the book falls solidly in the "reference" category and is a worthy addition to anyone's collection. Highly recommended.

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually mark pages that contain information I want to follow up on later (like websites I want to check out) or a good idea I'd like to try. Had I done that with Plastic-Free the whole thing would have been bristling with Post-it flags. I checked this out of the library to see if it was worth buying a copy, and the answer is yes. I'd love to have it around as a reference and to re-read, since I have to give it back to the library now. And hey, if I have my own copy then I won't have the oddity of a book on giving up plastic wrapped in a plastic library cover protector. :)

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four “recyclable” stars for this particular environmental / ecology book.

The author is also a blogger and this book is written in a style that is casual, personable and knowledgeable and not overly scientific, yet educational. It is very user and reader friendly, which made me breeze through it in a short amount of time. This is a very practical guidebook.

The intro section by Beth Terry tells us how she first came upon truly questioning plastics (while being invalid after a surgery). The more she researched and became acutely aware, the more vigilant she became to change her lifestyle, be healthy, and educate others.

In her book, she provides many references to other websites or vendors of organic cloth bags, diapers, natural ingredients/herbs to use as cleaning and personal care products. There are several “recipes” scattered in the back (homemade mayo and homemade ketchup, pesto).

At the end of each chapter, the author gives tips and also provides an action plan checklist if you take it upon yourself to take action (or not) on any of these initiatives. As usual, plastic trash and grocery bags are the bad guys and she offers up alternatives, which I would have thought paper was better and it really is not since at the store those are the only two options. She advocates use of cloth shopping bags and again, with warnings and references for the reader noting that these bags may not always be what they seem; some have plastic woven in or coated, so that defeats the purpose of avoiding plastic.

A good, informative, up to date reference book for everyday people to utilize in this day and age.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

My most-anticipated read of the year! Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too documents the journey of Beth Terry from average American consumer to plastic-free Jedi Master.
(I laughed when I found the library had wrapped it in plastic.)

I got it so I could learn from her, but also so I could find out crazy things:
--Does she brush her teeth with a toothbrush? (Do they make toothbrushes from anything but plastic?)
--How does she get prescriptions if they're not in a plastic bottle?
--Did people stop inviting her to parties because they were using plastic plates?
--How could she walk into a store--even Whole Foods!--without going crazy over the rampant use of plastic?

Even though Plastic Free looks small, it's packed with more than 300 pages of information. Eliminating plastic didn't come easy for Beth, and she admits it! I liked that she shared the ups and downs of her story without lecturing. She talks about how she replaced plastic and the actual things that regular, normal people can do.

[Jetha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspires you to take action and reduce your plastic usage. You understand the environmental and health concerns in detail and how recycling is not a solution. There are some good tips which can be applied generally but some are very specific to the country the author lives in.

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book entirely about eliminating plastic from your life could be boring, or it could be really guilt inducing. I found this book to be neither. The author was honest about her own struggles, which helped me feel less guilty about my own, but also straightforward about the problems with plastic - for our world and for our own health. I found the book at once distressing, infuriating, enlightening, and empowering. I wish my brain were able to hold all of the information I got from it, and all the ideas and action plans. Every time I put it down, I thought, "I'm gonna do that. I can totally do that," but then the next chapter had so many more ideas I wanted to try, so I couldn't hold everything in! Luckily, Ms. Terry also includes a list of action steps at the end of each chapter to help organize all the thoughts you have while you read, and the information and ideas and resources (and there are TONS) that she gives are really well organized. I pretty much wanted to highlight the whole thing, but since it is so well organized, I didn't have to.

I read this book in preparation for my church's Lenten series on simplicity. At first I was doubtful that it would be very helpful, that it would mostly be a gratifying read for this NorCal hippie and fuel what efforts I already make at living lightly in the world. But I found plenty of material. My big take-away (which she actually covers in the final chapter) is that as soon as you start to notice and then eliminate plastic in your life, you realize that most things that come in plastic are unnecessary or downright unhealthy. The author had to learn how to cook real food, for example, because she could no longer rely on frozen and processed food. She had to learn how to make her own cleaning supplies, and buy whole foods in bulk. She learned how to make and fix things herself, which not only saved money and waste, but also gave her a sense of pride, ownership, and joy for her things, rather than being totally detached from them and thus willing to throw them in the garbage. These are exactly the goals of simply living: to appreciate more what you have (and not view it as disposable and worthless), to avoid waste, to go back to basics (why is there is a different cleaner for every part of your bathroom, when all you really need is water, vinegar, and baking soda?) Consumer society has convinced us we need more stuff, and more complex stuff, but we just don't. Support the economy, but support your local economy, your local community, or small businesses that are committed to ethical practices, and that will respond to your requests (like asking for plastic-free packaging when something is shipped to you!). It is good for the environment, good for your community, good for your physical and emotional health, good for your relationships... Why not go for it?

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a teenager who loves nature living in an era of devastating habitat loss and animal species decline, disgusting pollution and apocolyptically terrifying changes in the world's climate. But I'm optimistic about the future, because of people like Beth Terry.

This book is the ultimate guide to the problems of plastic and how to reduce it in your life. Not only is there an unbeatable collection of well-researched information, resources and tips, but this book is chock-full of inspiring personal stories and emotional advice for anyone trying to be more eco-friendly. Terry really understands how overwhelming it can be to realise you're drowning in a sea of plastic, and you're taking the ocean's beautiful marine life down with you - or the difficulty of trying to face any environmental problem in the world today. So she gives her advice in a friendly and often humourous way, and weaves in stories of amazing activists and real changes that have been made. She also includes handy lists of how to deal with feeling hopeless or insignificant in the face of massive global issues. But the biggest reason why this book makes change feel not only possible, but exciting, is the author herself. She takes the time to show you her journey, right from living off single-serving freezer convenience meals (all packaged in plastic) to the place she's at now. She is so vibrantly human - chasing her passion, forgiving herself and others for damage we've already caused, and still making mistakes - that it jumps off the page.

This is such an approachable and informative book, and I definitely think you should read it. Making changes in your life that you know will benefit the world, actually becoming connected to your actions, is such a positive thing, and this book provides you with such a wide breadth of tools to do that. The one drawback of this book might be that it's kind of USA-focused, but I think that's unavoidable really and I still feel like I have so much accessible resources at my fingertips, even though I live in England. So whoever and wherever you are, go pick this up!

[Petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of 5-star reads lately :)

Look, there are many things that inspired me to go with that rating. Number one being that at a point where I thought to myself that it’s all too much, plastic is in fucking (sorry) everything and I will never get rid of it, there came a chapter called ‘when it’s overwhelming’ and what to do when it all starts feeling like too much. Very much appreciated.

I loved the insertion od everyday heroes - people who changed things and proved that one person CAN in fact make a change. And most of all, I loved the last chapters spelling out reasons why we should all do something and why it really matters.

This book offers a beautiful summary of everything plastic based on a story of one woman who tries to be better. It’s informative, it’s practical, it’s depressing (once you wrap your head around the information), but it’s also funny (I flat out almost choked on my water when she mentioned a story of sharing a lawnmower, dragging it around town happily, letting people wonder why the hell she was mowing concrete). It’s not preachy, the issue is pressing, but this book will help you take it one step at a time, it will inspire you. And realize that every one of us can make a difference (if you didn’t know that before).

[Danica S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though some of the suggestions are not feasible for those of us living in less progressive states or more rural areas (why are all the people who write these books in California?!), I still found this book to be inspiring and full of several practical suggestions. I love the author’s advice to “just pick one thing and get started,” and to “make a game of it.” I also appreciate her message that individual responsibility and corporate responsibility can be complementary tools to bring about change (although I would argue corporate responsibility can have a bigger and more direct impact than individual actions!).

[sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful read. Definitely something I'd recommend for anyone looking to *throw out* plastic culture. It's a quick read—I finished it pretty quickly while sitting at the library, though I did take a lot of notes on it. I wish I had my own copy!

[Rachel Ayers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid research. Lots of solutions and alternatives for anyone at any level of concern or commitment.

[Catullus2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written and worthy book.

[Suzanne Bhargava · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am torn. I share the author’s horror at what plastic waste is doing to the planet, and her determination to make a personal change to stop contributing to that destruction (while hopefully inspiring others around me to do the same).

But I felt alienated straightaway in chapter 1 when I found the author claiming that autism is a disease caused by BPA plastics. First of all, autism is not a disease. And second of all, autism is not a disease. Also leading professionals in autism research are in general agreement that autism is probably genetic.

She repeats the claim that certain plastics have been linked to autism (referencing Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, who are not a medical research group, but are lobbyists, whose members include some organisations who were involved in promoting false claims that autism was caused by MMR vaccinations, thereby causing the spread of measles!). She may have continued to repeat these claims. I don’t know, because I decided to stop reading the “science” bits as didn’t feel I could trust any of it after that. And I was already a convert. I didn’t need to be convinced that plastic is not good.

One key thing she focuses on is the fact that one person changing their own habits is not enough to make a world-changing difference. You have to reach out to make a bigger change, not by preaching at your friends (although your intentional choices will have a ripple effect over the people closest to you), but by engaging in community action and pestering businesses to make changes too. My favourite was when she set up a stall at her local farmers market to educate a target group about plastic waste (her local farmers market is now plastic free).

Good ideas for reducing plastic waste:
Take a reusable bottle everywhere
Bring fabric shopping bags everywhere
Find a shop with bulk bins and buy your dry goods there
Grow your own fruit and veg
Buy fresh bread and keep it in a bread bin
Juice your own oranges and lemons
Shop at your local farmers market
Give up packaged frozen food (whole foods and some farm shops have bulk frozen fruit)
Bake!
Buy milk in glass bottles
Make your own yoghurt
Buy loose tea instead of tea bags
Avoid chewing gum (we’re not 12, after all)

Overall, I found this to be a thorough and helpful guide to cutting plastic waste. I had already made a number of changes to cut plastic waste out of my own life, and will make even more changes based on some of her very good ideas. I do hope the author will rethink her claims about autism if there’s a third edition.

[April Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hesitate in a way to mark this book as "read," because it was really more that I skimmed through the whole thing and read what grabbed me; I didn't read every word. But that wasn't because it was uninteresting - it was because it was a lot of information to take in and a bit overwhelming! Instead of reading this cover to cover, it almost would be better to use as a reference. But I have to get my copy back to the library - I may check it out again or purchase it in a few weeks! I would like to reduce the disposable plastic I'm using, but I came to the realization while reading this that I will make myself crazy if I try to do it all at once. Given the current hecticness of my life, baby steps are good. So I plan to start by phasing out plastic grocery bags and produce bags - those were actually my inspiration for looking into reducing plastic anyways, because I recently made a big salad with 7 or so different veggies for dinner guests, and was struck by the pile of plastic bags I was left with.

This book is an absolute wealth of ideas for how to reduce your plastic use. My only reason for giving it 4 rather than 5 stars is that I wish the author had addressed people who can't do some of what she does. She lives in an area with access to a lot of natural food stores and great public transit to get there; I live in an area where I can bike to a grocery that uses a lot of plastic packaging, or drive my car 20 minutes to get to whole foods to buy bulk foods that I could put in cloth bags. What's more eco-friendly in this case? If this issue was addressed, I missed it. Also, she doesn't have children. She includes just a few pages on avoiding plastic for kids, and basically says "use cloth diapers and buy wooden toys!" I did those things, but there are SO many other things for babies and preschoolers where you have no plastic-free option; I wish she'd talked to more eco-conscious parents and gotten more tips to include in the book. That said, I really enjoyed a lot of her tips and ideas, and she thinks of plastic things we use (and throw out) that I would never have thought of on my own, and she suggests some pretty clever ways to reduce plastic and even be frugal at the same time, so it was pretty eye opening!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book simply because Beth puts everything we need to know about the "problems with plastic and what we can do about those problems" into one easy to read book.

It's a book that shows us possibilities... and it's so freaking inspiring.

My favorite theme of Plastic-Free is: By letting others see our personal changes, we set an example of a different way to be.

Beth empowers her readers with the knowledge and know how to go out into the world and do something-- whether it's picking up litter, taking our own bags to the store, carrying a reusable water bottle, saying "no thank you" to single-use items like straws or having the courage to use our voices for change-- and shares with others what's possible.

Plus: the chocolate syrup recipe is amazingly yummy :)

[krista. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book because I decided to really get serious about cutting my plastic consumption, and I wanted some textual support on my journey. This book has way more information than I could absorb in one go, but I feel like it's both a great resource for information and for a supportive voice when trying to do the right thing becomes overwhelming. Beth Terry is a great cheerleader in this book, and I very much appreciate that tone because the subject matter can seem quite overwhelming and grim. I will be sharing this with friends and family.

[Stephanie Coldiron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great info on how plastic is ruining our world. Hard to live by completely, but lots of great ideas on helping the environment.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a dirty hippy this might be old hat

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Like many people, Beth Terry didn't think an individual could have much impact on the environment. But while laid up after surgery, she read an article about the staggering amount of plastic polluting the oceans, and decided then and there to kick her plastic habit. Now she wants to teach you how you can too. In her quirky and humorous style -- well known to the readers of her popular blog, My Plastic-Free Life -- Terry provides personal anecdotes, stats about the environmental and health problems related to plastic, and personal solutions and tips on how to limit your plastic footprint.

"Presenting both beginner and advanced steps, Terry includes handy checklists and tables for easy reference, ways to get involved in larger community actions, and profiles of individuals -- Plastic-Free Heroes -- who have gone beyond personal solutions to create change on a larger scale. Plastic Free also includes sections on letting go of ecoguilt, strategies for coping with overwhelming problems, and ways to relate to other people who aren't as far along on the plastic-free path. Both a practical guide and the story of a personal journey from helplessness to empowerment, Plastic Free is a must read for those concerned about the ongoing health and happiness of themselves, their children, and the planet."
~~front flap

This is an incredible book! I had already been trying to get plastic out of my home and this book showed me any more ways to do that, as well as underling how bad plastic is for our health. This book is a keeper -- a good reference for how to deplasticize your life.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot but I feel it would help to have a revamp and restructured, especially for the audiobook. It had really good info but I felt spent a lot of time on subjects I didn't need to go so deep into and then rushed to get other items in before finishing. References to companies and places to get plastic free options is great, but the websites could have been placed in an index and instead of reading out the addresses in each section. I found myself skipping that a lot. But I feel it is worth reading, she does a lot research into options saving all of us time!

[Barb Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beth Terry is friendly, enthusiastic, and thankfully not particularly judgmental. She does an excellent job of describing her own journey to a plastic-free life. I don’t think I’ll ever take it as far as she has, but still I learned a lot of helpful strategies, and just seeing how she did it gave me a clearer vision of what to do. My only complaint is that if you’re already onboard with the need to cut down on plastic, the first third or so of the book is tedious. She doesn’t really get down to the details of how to be plastic free for a long time. Also, I think I was somehow expecting her to wave a magic wand that would make it easy to be plastic free, and sadly that’s not realistic. But overall, this book is exactly what I was hoping it would be. Definitely recommend to anyone who is thinking about reducing their use of plastic.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Great Way to Start Thinking

This book is a great way to open your eyes to the dangers of plastics and how you can do your best to avoid them. The only reason I'm subtracting a star is because a lot of the solutions seem money-based. I'd appreciate some pointers for the folks who can't afford the special eco friendly stuff.
All in all, though, a good way to get started!

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful; mostly made me feel extra-paranoid. But she writes in a nonjudgmental way, which is refreshing, particularly in this zero-waste arena, which tends to be very self-righteous.

[Angélique (MapleBooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book, probably the best I've read about living waste-free so far. It's very practical with a lot of links to references, shops and further information.
Highly recommended.

[Chloe H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot more homegrown and down to earth than other guides for waste reduction that I have read. Surprisingly though, things have changed a lot since 2012 and some advice is already out of date.

[Arroma Assada · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is an eye opening book which represents the negative impact of plastic on our earth. The writer mentions all the plastic items we use in our daily life and the alternatives that we can use to avoid polluting the planet.