No. More. Plastic.: What you can do to make a difference - the #2minutesolution

This is a similar book to Will McCalum’s ‘How to Give Up Plastic’ published in the same year by Penguin Life. Will is a member of Greenpeace. Martin is the founder of #2minutesolution and described by Chris Packham in the foreword as ‘a nice bloke’ and a ‘doer’. All that are beside the point. The point being made by both Will and Martin is an important one. Plastic is choking up the ocean. It may not be now, but it may be sooner than we think before the ocean becomes an ocean of plastics.Yes, both books are small and can be read in an afternoon. They are of the same size and have a tiffany blue cover. They look like twins and published by the Penguin group of publishers. The statistics given by both writers are alarming. They provide different aspects of the same story so it may be a worthy cause to buy both books and lend one to a friend. Will tells us how many bottles are jettisoned into the ocean every day; Martin explains why we see more bottle caps than water – the plastic bottles sink to the bottom of the sea and will eventually be broken up into microplastic, the danger of that is lucidly explained by Will.If we have the conscience, we must have the will to do something about the environmental disaster we have all helped create. No more.

I know this book is written for the UK, so I had to look up a few words (crisp packets?), but UK differences aside, Martin gives really easy to follow and approachable ways to reduce my plastic footprint. So many times books like this leave me feeling hopeless. Like, why bother because the problem is so huge! Not so with this book. Not so at all. Martin focuses on making sure readers understand that even a tiny change, like using cloth grocery bags instead of plastic or simply switching to a reusable coffee cup (you get a discount for that anyway!) can have a big impact. His ideas have helped me make some small but important change in my household. No, I am not ever going to be able to be completely plastic-free or zero waste. But the changes I've been able to make do make a difference, no matter how small. Thank you Martin for the encouragement and for helping me find ways to contribute to the solution without becoming overwhelmed. It's a huge problem, but Martin give baby steps we can all take to make it better.

good book, read it a couple of times and it inspires me to look a little harder and my plastic uses

This book gave me a couple of simple, concrete ways I can reduce the amount of plastic my family uses. If you are new to the tragedy of plastic consumption and the dangers to nature then the book gives you a good introduction in an quick-read format.

I appreciate this helpful, encouraging easy-to-read and digest book. It's full of facts and reality with easy-to-fit-in-to-your-lifestyle action items. It's practical and without any guilt or judgement.

Excellent. I wish everyone would read this little book -- we must significantly cut back on plastic use and this gives practical and doable suggestions.

When a whale lies convulsing on a Thai shore (early June 2018) and dies because in its digestion system there are more than 80+ plastic bags, then one really does have to start to think about what we humans are doing to the planet. And most of us I am sure have seen Blue Planet 2…As this concise little books says “We need to free ourselves from the tyranny of convenience”This is a small, punchy book aimed at people who perhaps want to start to take responsibility for their own plastic consumption in a more measured and thoughtful way. Plastic is everywhere, hardly any of it, in truth, is recyclable. The author helpfully gives manufacturer’s ratings and how to identify what can and can’t be recycled but you would probably need to take the book and its table with you to really understand the issues at hand.Some schools in the UK, says the author, use plastic cutlery and plates for lunch. Honestly, why would you do that? Who could possibly suggest that that is a good way to encourage a healthy way of eating in children? Where’s the pleasure? Snapped forks with prongs missing, bendy plates – these are functional tools, but do not make for a pleasurable eating experience (positive eating messsages with growing obesity issues are surely important?). More to the point, it’s all bad for the environment. Plastic water bottles are a no-no…. there is no need, as there are so many places to refill your portable bottles. Straws will outlive you. According to the #2minutebeachclean app 4.25% of beach litter is straws and plastic cutlery.The author encourages you to take a look around a typical supermarket, why plastic wrap cucumbers or oranges? They have ready made skins for protection. He suggests taking recyclable containers to counters at your local supermarket to buy loose produce is one way forward.Clothes, with synthetic fibres, shed at the drop of a hat, wet wipes have plastic components and will last and last, nappies and plastic tampon applicators will all be around for years and years to come. Tea bags? Ever wondered why they never really compost down? That’s because the bags contain plastic!This book just touches on the problems of plastic waste but addressing the problem of plastic (we’ve all seen David Attenborough wading through ocean plastic) surely has to be high up the list. There are facts and statistics galore in the book which make for sobering reading. Why can’t we have bottle deposit schemes?My best find of late are little re-usable drawstring bags which I take to the greengrocer - that saves on the plastic or paper bags that are readily supplied. And don’t believe that paper bags are any better than plastic, the pollution caused by hauling them round the country is significant. We are definitely on borrowed time.

When a whale lies convulsing on a Thai shore (early June 2018) and dies because in its digestion system there are more than 80+ plastic bags, then one really does have to start to think about what we humans are doing to the planet. And most of us I am sure have seen Blue Planet 2…As this concise little books says “We need to free ourselves from the tyranny of convenience”This is a small, punchy book aimed at people who perhaps want to start to take responsibility for their own plastic consumption in a more measured and thoughtful way. Plastic is everywhere, hardly any of it, in truth, is recyclable. The author helpfully gives manufacturer’s ratings and how to identify what can and can’t be recycled but you would probably need to take the book and its table with you to really understand the issues at hand.Some schools in the UK, says the author, use plastic cutlery and plates for lunch. Honestly, why would you do that? Who could possibly suggest that that is a good way to encourage a healthy way of eating in children? Where’s the pleasure? Snapped forks with prongs missing, bendy plates – these are functional tools, but do not make for a pleasurable eating experience (positive eating messsages with growing obesity issues are surely important?). More to the point, it’s all bad for the environment. Plastic water bottles are a no-no…. there is no need, as there are so many places to refill your portable bottles. Straws will outlive you. According to the #2minutebeachclean app 4.25% of beach litter is straws and plastic cutlery.The author encourages you to take a look around a typical supermarket, why plastic wrap cucumbers or oranges? They have ready made skins for protection. He suggests taking recyclable containers to counters at your local supermarket to buy loose produce is one way forward.Clothes, with synthetic fibres, shed at the drop of a hat, wet wipes have plastic components and will last and last, nappies and plastic tampon applicators will all be around for years and years to come. Tea bags? Ever wondered why they never really compost down? That’s because the bags contain plastic!This book just touches on the problems of plastic waste but addressing the problem of plastic (we’ve all seen David Attenborough wading through ocean plastic) surely has to be high up the list. There are facts and statistics galore in the book which make for sobering reading. Why can’t we have bottle deposit schemes?My best find of late are little re-usable drawstring bags which I take to the greengrocer - that saves on the plastic or paper bags that are readily supplied. And don’t believe that paper bags are any better than plastic, the pollution caused by hauling them round the country is significant. We are definitely on borrowed time.

I must say I was rather impressed by this book. Okay, I only found about a quarter of it actually useful but then that's because I already do a lot of what is suggested to try and reduce my plastic use (I am an ecologist after all) but I did find the style of writing not only easy to read but perfectly balanced between getting the importance of the points across without being preachy. I liked how Dorey breaks each chapter down to the facts, then the hows and then the mini action/check list, making it ever so easy to get away from plastic. More importantly, Dorey acknowledges that some plastic avoidance is hard and will take time to achieve and needs businesses to get involved too but he also doesn't use this as a get out clause and gives alternative options to handle the issue in the meantime. I also rather liked the kids chapter, which was written for and at children, not for adults to tell children about, which makes for a pleasant change and a great way to get them involved.

This is a similar book to Will McCalum’s ‘How to Give Up Plastic’ published in the same year by Penguin Life. Will is a member of Greenpeace. Martin is the founder of #2minutesolution and described by Chris Packham in the foreword as ‘a nice bloke’ and a ‘doer’. All that are beside the point. The point being made by both Will and Martin is an important one. Plastic is choking up the ocean. It may not be now, but it may be sooner than we think before the ocean becomes an ocean of plastics.Yes, both books are small and can be read in an afternoon. They are of the same size and have a tiffany blue cover. They look like twins and published by the Penguin group of publishers. The statistics given by both writers are alarming. They provide different aspects of the same story so it may be a worthy cause to buy both books and lend one to a friend. Will tells us how many bottles are jettisoned into the ocean every day; Martin explains why we see more bottle caps than water – the plastic bottles sink to the bottom of the sea and will eventually be broken up into microplastic, the danger of that is lucidly explained by Will.If we have the conscience, we must have the will to do something about the environmental disaster we have all helped create. No more.

Good idea in principle and I applaud those trying to get the message out, however I found this book a total waste of money - very small book padded out with very large fonts, and most of the stuff in it is basic common sense which anyone interested enough in the topic to buy this would know / already be doing anyway - e.g. 'Use tap water instead of bottled water'. I paid money to be told that??

I heard an interview with the author on the radio, and sent off immediately for the book. It's a slim volume, packed with good ideas. I already put some of them into practise, but there are a few I hadn't thought about. Good for anyone not already on board to save the planet.