The Plastic Paradox: Confronting a Existential Threat

We live in a world built on plastic: and increasingly poisoned by it. Microplastics are in our food, water and bloodstream. Nanoplastics are crossing biological boundaries we once believed were impenetrable. Wildlife, soils, oceans and even the atmosphere now carry the signature of a material designed to last forever.

Yet the global response remains dominated by comforting illusions:

“Recycling will fix it.”
“Biodegradable plastics are the answer.”
“Chemical recycling is circular.”
“Turning plastic into fuel makes it sustainable.”

In The Plastic Paradox, Professor Chris Harrop OBE dismantles these narratives with clarity and scientific precision. This book explains:

• The full ecological and human-health impacts of micro and nanoplastics
• Why global recycling systems cannot cope with the volume and chemistry of modern plastics
• The limits of chemical recycling, pyrolysis and plastic-to-diesel schemes
• How industry, politics and language have shaped public misunderstanding
• Why plastic is fundamentally an upstream problem — and what systemic solutions look like

This is not another book about “doing better recycling.”
It is a forensic analysis of a global material addiction — and a roadmap for breaking it.

For sustainability professionals, policymakers, business leaders, educators and concerned citizens, The Plastic Paradox is the definitive guide to understanding one of the most urgent environmental challenges of our time.