Untangling Plastics - by Bob Gedert (Paperback)

About the Book

Reaching the Post-Plastic Age for True Sustainability

Book Synopsis

Reaching the Post-Plastic Age for True Sustainability

Untangling Plastics: The Missing Link in Mitigating Climate Change reveals a critical but widely overlooked truth: Plastic is not just a pollution problem. It is a climate problem, a public health problem, and a systems problem hiding in plain sight.

Written for policymakers, sustainability leaders, educators, and climate-focused readers, this book explains how plastics derived from fossil fuels drive greenhouse gas emissions at every stage of their life cycle, from extraction and production to disposal. It also examines how plastic pollution impacts human health, ecosystems, and frontline communities worldwide.

Unlike many climate change books that focus solely on energy or high-level policy, Untangling Plastics connects the dots between plastics, climate disruption, and real-world consequences. It goes beyond theory to highlight practical actions by individuals, institutions, and governments that can meaningfully reduce plastic dependence and climate risk.

Clear, accessible, and grounded in evidence, Untangling Plastics equips readers with the knowledge needed to understand why the elimination of plastics must be part of any serious climate solution and what can be done to address the problem now.

Review Quotes

"Gedert's book is one of the first to make the critical connection between plastics and their climate impacts, in large part owing to the shared root cause of both crises-fossil fuels. As someone who spent his career in the recycling industry, he also rightly underscores that recycling-be it mechanical or chemical-sounds virtuous but isn't when it comes to plastic. Kudos for plainly saying that by their very nature, fossil-fuel plastics 'have no place in the circular economy.' We should all heed the specific actions he lays out, from replacing one's plastic spatula to ending fossil fuel subsidies." -Holly Kaufman, director and co-founder, The Plastics & Climate Project; senior fellow, World Resources Institute

"In Untangling Plastics, Bob Gedert offers a detailed one-stop shop for what we must know and what we must do to turn back the clock on plastic dependence. By exposing the recycling farce, the toxic threat, the LCA blind spot, and the climate connection, Gedert illustrates the threat of plastics' growth trajectory and what it means for the human condition. Importantly, he gets down to brass tacks in laying out the solution. Untangling Plastics is an invaluable user guide to saving our plastic-plagued planet." -Jackie Savitz, former chief policy director, Oceana; career plastics campaigner; scientist with training in marine biology and toxicology

"Bob Gedert's Untangling Plastics leans on personal experience and science-backed research to thoughtfully unravel the toxic, intertwined issues of fossil fuel extraction, plastic production, plastic pollution, and the climate crisis; Gedert importantly shows us that it is only possible to address all of these aspects of the issue together-plastic pollution cannot be solved in isolation." -Dianna Cohen, co-founder and CEO, Plastic Pollution Coalition

"Bob Gedert's Untangling Plastics is a compelling and urgent examination of how plastics contribute significantly to the climate crisis-not just as waste but across their entire lifecycle rooted in fossil fuels. Drawing on his leadership in the zero waste and recycling movement, Gedert exposes the myths of plastic recycling and the deceptive practices of the plastics industry. The book calls for a precautionary approach to safeguard future generations and repositions plastic as a moral issue, not just a policy one.

More than a critique, it's a call to action-for policymakers, advocates, and especially people of faith-to embrace values of justice, humility, and care for creation. With practical steps and a hopeful vision for a Post-Plastic Age, Gedert offers both a prophetic challenge and a practical road map toward a healthier planet and a more just society." -Jay V Bassett, former manager and national advisor, Sustainable Materials Management Southeast EPA Program; steering committee member, The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta's Care for Creation: Laudato Si' Initiative

"Untangling Plastics by Bob Gedert, one of the country's most distinguished solid waste and recycling managers, delivers a critically important message to the general public, government and industry officials, and zero waste activists alike. The book lays out the connections between plastic pollution and the direct threats to people and nature. Yet, there can be life on Earth without plastic pollution. Gedert calls for a 'hard stop, now' and then puts forward a clear pathway for collective and individual actions to achieve it. This is a must-read for those working for a fair economy and a sound environment." -Neil Seldman, PhD, co-founder, Zero Waste USA; co-founder and board member, Zero Waste International Alliance