Plastic Inc.: The Secret History and Shocking Future of Big Oil's Biggest Bet

A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice

An extraordinary exposé of the industry flooding our world with plastic—and now ramping up to make more than ever

“A compelling true-crime story.” —Zoë Schlanger, The New York Times Book Review

“Deeply researched, sharply written, and totally compelling.” —Elizabeth Kolbert, author of the The Sixth Extinction

“It is impossible not to compare Beth Gardiner’s Plastic Inc. to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.” —John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather

Plastic, the foundational material of modern consumerism, is everywhere in our daily lives. But the oil and petrochemical companies making it are hiding in plain sight. Because for all the vivid coverage of where plastic ends up, there is remarkably little discussion of where it comes from. Today, industry is pouring billions of dollars into plans to double, or even triple, the amount it churns out, even as individuals concerned about plastic’s out-of-control proliferation try to use less. As Big Oil stares down a future of diminishing demand for fossil fuels, plastic has become its financial lifeline.

Award-winning journalist Beth Gardiner gives readers an up-close look at the plastic industry’s relentless growth, its extraordinary profits, its toxic pollution and its hidden role in exacerbating climate change. Every chapter in Plastic Inc. brings new revelations, including how Big Oil pushed the lie that recycling was the answer to our plastic mess, even though companies always knew it couldn't work at scale; the hidden health crisis caused by chemicals and microplastics in the items we use every day; and the alarming parallels between the marketing strategies used by plastic producers and those of tobacco companies and Big Pharma. 

Plastic Inc.’s gripping stories will reframe for readers a problem many of us think we understand, but which has deeper roots, and greater dangers, than we know.

Beth Gardiner is an American journalist based in London. Her work has been published in outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, National Geographic, The Washington Post, Scientific American and HuffPost, and she’s a former longtime Associated Press reporter. Her first book, Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution, was named one of 2019’s best by The Guardian, and was a finalist for the National Association of Science Writers’ Science in Society book award.