An exposé of the plastic industry

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I'm Tanya Mosley. Think about everything you've touched today, your toothbrush, your coffee cup, the phone in your hand, the shoes on your feet. Chances are almost all of it is made of plastic or contains some element of it. Plastic was first used to insulate radar cables during World War II, and scientists soon found other uses for it, and after the war, it moved into our kitchens and our cars, our clothing and our medicine. By the 1950s, companies were racing to make plastic disposable and a throwaway culture was born.

My guest today is Beth Gardner, a journalist and author of the new book Plastic Inc., The Secret History and Shocking Future of Big Oil's Biggest Bet. In it, she argues that while millions of us have been trying to use less plastic, the fossil fuel industry has been making more. Plastic, she says, is Big Oil's plan B. The less we use, the more they make. Beth Gartner, welcome to Fresh Air.

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