No More Rubbish Excuses!: 50 simple, effective things you can do to cut your plastic & waste to help the planet

by Martin Dorey

One of 'the best new books on eco-living' Sunday Times

Litter on our streets, plastics in our seas, overflowing landfill, fatbergs... Do you know where your rubbish ends up?

We are all responsible for the waste we make and we can make simple changes to live more planet-friendly lives.

Expert environmental campaigner Martin Dorey looks at what we recycle, what we bin, what we take to the tip - plastics, food, clothing, electricals and furniture - where it goes and what it really does to our planet.

Martin offers simple, impactful ways – #2minutesolutions – to cut down your waste and why they make a big difference.

You can help save the planet. It only takes 2 minutes.

Genres: Nonfiction, Environment, Education

192 pages, Paperback

Published December 26, 2019

About the author

Martin Dorey is a surfer, writer, beach lover, and anti-plastic activist. He is the author of the best-selling No. More. Plastic. and founder of the Beach Clean Network and the #2minutebeachclean movement. Martin Dorey lives near the sea in Cornwall, England.

Reviews

[Midori]

Một vài thông tin mình thấy hữu ích.
Nhiều thông tin không mới mẻ lắm.
Giọng của tác giả khiến mình không có nhiều cảm tình. Giống một giáo viên quá nghiêm khắc đang bày tỏ sự tức giận và thất vọng về những sai trái của học trò mình.

[Giada Cortinovis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro interessante, ma non dice nulla di nuovo rispetto ai libri sull'argomento plastica che ho già letto. È tarato sul territorio del Regno Unito.

[Rogue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really up-to-date stats and interesting information, with the latest news from the plastic-free front. I think the place where this falls down perhaps is right at the end, where the ideas to reduce a plastic footprint aren't the most original- just the same old remember your water bottle etc etc.

[Charlie Bradford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good for those learning and who don't know where to start, a good starter guide. Not the best if you're already educated and know what needs to be done (if you've read more than 1 or 2 books about the climate crisis already)

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like books like this - short and sweet, with plenty of facts and lots of practical advice. Most of us have been shocked by the Blue Planet II phenomenon - a recognition at last of the devastating damage that plastics are doing to our environment and our planet. But like most people, I keep thinking 'what on earth am I supposed to do? I'm trapped in a consumerist society which uses plastic for absolutely everything.'

What this little book does is ask you to just do one thing, or take two minutes. Micro actions then cumulate into big differences and if everyone undertook to make these micro changes then real change is possible. It suddenly felt achievable. I liked how the author emphasised that we didn't need to change everything all at once, but gave practical tips on all of the little things we could start to implement.

Unfortunately, this is written for the British Market, so quite a lot of the suggestions were UK-centric. I am sure, though, with a bit of research it would be possible to find Australian equivalents. But if nothing else, even when grocery shopping today I was that much more aware of the amount of plastic, and I found myself making different choices. Every journey starts with a single step.

[Tuyet Lan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuốn sách này nên đọc sau cuốn No more plastic để có cái nhìn sâu rộng hơn về rác thải (không đọc cũng được :))

Cuốn sách này là sự mở rộng hơn của No more plastic. Tác giả vẫn dành nhiều thời lượng để để cập đến rác thải nhựa, và chia sẻ thêm về các loại rác thải khác như thực phẩm thừa, quần áo nhanh, đồ điện tử cũ... Những loại rác thải này, là sản phẩm của chủ nghĩa tiêu dùng - FOMO, chú trọng bề ngoài hoàn hảo, ưu tiên sự tiện dụng và không nghĩ đến sự bền vững. Chủ nghĩa tiêu dùng khiến cho thực phẩm, vật dụng vẫn còn giá trị sử dụng đã bị vứt bỏ -tạo nên hàng núi rác mỗi ngày.

Cũng giống như sau khi xem Blue Planet II, độc sau khi đọc cuốn sách này cũng sẽ bừng bừng nhiệt huyết muốn thực hiện các hành vi giảm thiểu và tái chế rác. Tác giả đưa ra các hành động mà người đọc có thể thực hiện ngay, từ dễ đến khó, từ quy mô cá nhân đến vận động chính sách của cả cộng đồng, quốc gia. Nhiều giải pháp mới chỉ làm được tại châu Âu, nhưng mình hy vọng rằng sẽ sớm được nhân rộng ở Việt Nam. Hoặc rất có thể người Việt mình sẽ có các sáng kiến riêng phù hợp với thực tế nguồn lực và văn hóa nước mình.

Và quan trọng nhất là, các hành động giảm thiểu và tái chế rác đó- tuy rất nhỏ cần được thực hiện ngay, thực hiện thường xuyên và trở thành phong cách sống chứ không phải làm một vài lần vì vài bức ảnh sống ảo, PR.

[Jade Louise]

Written by the founder of the #2minutebeachclean movement, this book dives in to the topic of reducing our waste (plastic & otherwise) for the good of the planet. I read a number of books along the same line as this, so many of the tips weren’t new to me, however I did learn some interesting (& worrying) new and timely statistics, as well as found some new (UK based) resources.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

After his war on plastic Dorey now tackles the problem of rubbish. An excellent book for ideas to begin your journey to zerowaste. However, our throwaway society is an ambitious problem to tackle. Although brimming over with advice the book does fail to explore the issues to any great depth.

[Maria Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A daunting read - we are dealing with a massive environmental crisis that can seem totally overwhelming. This book outlines the problems without too much incomprehensible science / jargon and gives tips on how we can all individually make a contribution leading to change.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful little handbook to remind us all how much we need to stop relying on single use plastics, and do much more for our environment.

Even doing one small thing, like having a reusable water bottle or coffee travel mug, makes a difference. Thinking about what we put in our bins and send to landfill, or wash down the sink and eventually into the watercourse is important.

We all need to make changes to our daily lives, however small. And this book helps us to focus our minds, before it becomes too late to stop the damage we're doing to our environment.

[Hue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just feel kinda terrible and helping a bit doesn't feel like it'd help at all. Also, an abuse of stats: some of the stats were, to say the least, misleading.

[Sam Schulenburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously not a cheery read but had some really useful pragmatic insights. I, however, will not be participating in a "mass unpacking" at my local supermarket because I, for one, have shame.

[Harry Weaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inevitably a sobering and depressing little book... but at the same time also inspiring and motivating :)

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful

Lots of things to consider and think about after reading this book. Definitely opened my eyes to things I hadn't considered before and some fantastic tips to take away and put into.practice immediately.

[Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

A practical collection of tips for reducing waste in everyday life - can't complain as it did everything it said on the tin!

I am reviewing this circa a year after reading, and I have genuinely implemented a few pieces of the guidance, so it has helped to reduce my waste (e.g. we use a bar of soap so less plastic in circulation).

[Halle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great book that actually makes you want to make a positive difference