Adult Book Recommendations
101 Ways To Go Zero Waste by Kathryn Kellogg
We all know how important it is to reduce our environmental footprint, but it can be daunting to know where to begin. Enter Kathryn Kellogg, who can fit all her trash from the past two years into a 16-ounce mason jar. How? She starts by saying “no” to straws and grocery bags, and “yes” to a reusable…(read full description)
Can I Recycle This? A Guide to Better Recycling by Jennie Romer
This practical guide to recycling includes a look at how recycling actually works, how to better handle the waste we produce, the way rules differ in every municipality and which common household objects can or cannot be recycled.
The Day the World Stops Shopping by J.B. Mackinnon
Consuming less is our best strategy for saving the planet-but can we do it? In this thoughtful and surprisingly optimistic book, journalist J.B. MacKinnon investigates how we might achieve a world without shopping.
Green Clean by Jill Potvin Schoff
The author presents natural, nontoxic alternatives to chemical-based cleaning products for the home. Each chapter covers a different area of the home, including bathroom, kitchen, outdoor areas, garages and basements, windows and window treatments, and flooring, as well as a section on cleanin…(read full description).
How to Give Up Plastic by Will McCallum
An accessible guide to the changes we can all make–small and large–to rid our lives of disposable plastic and clean up the world’s oceans. It takes 450 years for a plastic bottle to fully biodegrade, and there are around 12.7 million tons of plastic entering the ocean each year. At our…(read full description).
Is it really green? by Georgina Wilson-Powell
Find clarity on everyday green-living dilemmas to maximize your sustainability. Are paper bags always more environmentally friendly than plastic? How much better for the planet are electric cars? What saves more water: using the dishwasher or washing up by hand? We all want to do the right thing for…(read full description).
The Less Waste No Fuss Kitchen by Lindsay Miles
Our kitchens are ground zero when it comes to food waste, excess packaging and confusing ethical choices. What you buy, cook and eat has a much bigger impact than the bag you carry it in. Inspiring, practical and above all simple, The Less Waste No Fuss Kitchen is designed for busy people who…(read full description).
Plastic Ocean by Capt. Charles Moore
A prominent seafaring environmentalist and researcher shares his shocking discovery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean, and inspires a fundamental rethinking of the Plastic Age and a growing global health crisis.
Plastic Purge by Michael Sanclements
Plastic is everywhere you look. Our computers and children’s toys are made out of it, and our water and slices of American cheese are packaged in it. But why is there so much and what is it doing to our bodies? Is it possible to use less plastic and be happier and healthier? In Plastic Pu…(read full description).
Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson
In Zero Waste Home, Bea Johnson shares the story of how she simplified her life by reducing her waste. Today, Bea, her husband, Scott, and their two young sons produce just one quart of garbage a year, and their overall quality of life has changed for the better: they now have more time togeth…(read full description).
Kids Book Recommendations
The story of what happens when a camera becomes a piece of flotsam.
The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics by Susan hood
Hood’s poems highlight the threat of plastic and shows how it is hurting the health of our planet. You’ll discover how scientists are using jellyfish snot and other methods to break down plastic pollution faster. Hood then introduces readers to young activists who are standing up and…(read full description).
One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul
Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use. But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred. … Something had to change. Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found…(read full description).
Plastic, Ahoy! by Patricia Newman
A team of scientists explore the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where millions of pieces of plastic have gathered, having drifted there from rivers, beaches, and ocean traffic all over the world.
Trash Revolution by Erica Fyvie
All the stuff that surrounds us has a life cycle: materials are harvested, the stuff is made and distributed, it’s consumed and then it gets trashed or recycled. Using the typical contents of a child’s school backpack (defined as water, food, clothing, paper, plastic, metals, electro…(read full description).