
How to Give Up Plastic
A Guide to Changing the World, One Plastic Bottle at a Time
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $13.50
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jonathan Cowley
-
By:
-
Will McCallum
About this listen
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 current pace, in the year 2050 there could be more plastic in the oceans than fish, by weight. These are alarming figures, but plastic pollution is an environmental crisis with a solution we can all contribute to.
How to Give Up Plastic is a straightforward guide to eliminating plastic from your life. Going room by room through your home and workplace, Greenpeace activist Will McCallum teaches you how to spot disposable plastic items and find plastic-free, sustainable alternatives to each one. From carrying a reusable straw, to catching microfibers when you wash your clothes, to throwing plastic-free parties, you’ll learn new and intuitive ways to reduce plastic waste. And by arming you with a wealth of facts about global plastic consumption and anecdotes from activists fighting plastic around the world, you’ll also learn how to advocate to businesses and leaders in your community and across the country to commit to eliminating disposable plastics for good.
Includes a PDF of Plastic-Plan Worksheets, an Annotated Persuasive Letter, and an Annotated Press Release
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 Will McCallum (P)2019 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Power of Small
- Making Tiny but Powerful Changes When Life Feels Too Much
- By: Trish Leonard-Curtin, Aisling Leonard-Curtin
- Narrated by: Aisling Leonard-Curtin
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We’ve all set out to change our lives with big plans, bold ideas, and brilliant ambitions. And too often those resolutions and plans have lasted for a day or two before real life swoops in and we are back to normal. Or, perhaps even more frequently, we find ourselves so overwhelmed with life that we feel utterly powerless to even attempt to change anything. The Power of Small offers a way forward.
By: Trish Leonard-Curtin, and others
-
Living Green Guide
- 9 Ways to Live a Green and Healthy Life to Help in The Fight Against Global Warming and Climate Change
- By: Hattie Cooper
- Narrated by: Samantha Novak
- Length: 2 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is still so much we can do to reduce the amount of carbon emissions in the air, both as individuals and on a more grand scale with the help of governments and other influential organizations around the world. This book will provide you with simple things that we can do as individuals to tackle an overwhelming problem.
-
-
helpful guidebook for living a green life
- By MW on 02-15-23
By: Hattie Cooper
-
Who Ate the First Oyster?
- The Extraordinary People Behind the Greatest Firsts in History
- By: Cody Cassidy
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who wore the first pants? Who painted the first masterpiece? Who first rode the horse? Who invented soap? This madcap adventure across ancient history uses everything from modern genetics to archaeology to uncover the geniuses behind these and other world-changing innovations. With a sharp sense of humor and boundless enthusiasm for the wonders of our ancient ancestors, Who Ate the First Oyster? profiles the perpetrators of the greatest firsts and catastrophes of prehistory.
-
-
It could be better...
- By Alex on 04-06-21
By: Cody Cassidy
-
The Course in Miracles Experiment
- A Starter Kit for Rewiring Your Mind (and Therefore the World)
- By: Pam Grout
- Narrated by: Pam Grout
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Course in Miracles is profound, deeply moving, and as boring to read as a bookshelf assembly manual. Pam Grout to the rescue! Her new audiobook is for all those still struggling with the Course. Grout offers a modern-day rewrite of the 365-lesson workbook - the text at the heart of the Course. Unlike the original, it's user-friendly, accessible, and easy for everyone to understand. Grout drills down to the Course's essential message and meaning, grounding it in the context of everyday life in a way that's bound to stick.
-
-
Loving My Life!
- By Julia Loy on 03-26-20
By: Pam Grout
-
Becoming an Eco-Citizen
- Live Leaner, Cleaner and Greener with Everyday's Person Guide to Sustainable Living
- By: Edward Titles
- Narrated by: Andrew Rowe
- Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eco-Citizens are actively taking the initiative to prevent environmental damage to the planet. People are demanding better of themselves and asking corporations to serve global ecology through minimizing destructive and unfair practices and creating sustainable products with people and the planet in mind. Why? Companies must adjust their ethical practices to meet the demand to stay relevant and profitable as the customer becomes more educated on consumer goods and their negative ecological impact.
-
-
A Must-Read for Eco-Conscious Living!
- By Drake on 01-27-24
By: Edward Titles
-
How to Grow
- Nurture Your Garden, Nurture Yourself
- By: Marcus Bridgewater
- Narrated by: Marcus Bridgewater
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marcus Bridgewater has been compared to Bob Ross and Mister Rogers for his soothing TikTok videos that relate botany to humanity. A gardener “who shares tips about caring for one’s plants and oneself” (New York Times) and “is not only a trove of information if you’re looking to flex your green thumb, but a balm for the pandemic-induced chaos happening in the world” (Vogue), his soothing observations on plants and life have made him a social media star. In caring for over 600 plants, Marcus has gained invaluable wisdom.
-
-
A wonderful book
- By Helen McCarthy on 02-21-25
-
The Power of Small
- Making Tiny but Powerful Changes When Life Feels Too Much
- By: Trish Leonard-Curtin, Aisling Leonard-Curtin
- Narrated by: Aisling Leonard-Curtin
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We’ve all set out to change our lives with big plans, bold ideas, and brilliant ambitions. And too often those resolutions and plans have lasted for a day or two before real life swoops in and we are back to normal. Or, perhaps even more frequently, we find ourselves so overwhelmed with life that we feel utterly powerless to even attempt to change anything. The Power of Small offers a way forward.
By: Trish Leonard-Curtin, and others
-
Living Green Guide
- 9 Ways to Live a Green and Healthy Life to Help in The Fight Against Global Warming and Climate Change
- By: Hattie Cooper
- Narrated by: Samantha Novak
- Length: 2 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is still so much we can do to reduce the amount of carbon emissions in the air, both as individuals and on a more grand scale with the help of governments and other influential organizations around the world. This book will provide you with simple things that we can do as individuals to tackle an overwhelming problem.
-
-
helpful guidebook for living a green life
- By MW on 02-15-23
By: Hattie Cooper
-
Who Ate the First Oyster?
- The Extraordinary People Behind the Greatest Firsts in History
- By: Cody Cassidy
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who wore the first pants? Who painted the first masterpiece? Who first rode the horse? Who invented soap? This madcap adventure across ancient history uses everything from modern genetics to archaeology to uncover the geniuses behind these and other world-changing innovations. With a sharp sense of humor and boundless enthusiasm for the wonders of our ancient ancestors, Who Ate the First Oyster? profiles the perpetrators of the greatest firsts and catastrophes of prehistory.
-
-
It could be better...
- By Alex on 04-06-21
By: Cody Cassidy
-
The Course in Miracles Experiment
- A Starter Kit for Rewiring Your Mind (and Therefore the World)
- By: Pam Grout
- Narrated by: Pam Grout
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Course in Miracles is profound, deeply moving, and as boring to read as a bookshelf assembly manual. Pam Grout to the rescue! Her new audiobook is for all those still struggling with the Course. Grout offers a modern-day rewrite of the 365-lesson workbook - the text at the heart of the Course. Unlike the original, it's user-friendly, accessible, and easy for everyone to understand. Grout drills down to the Course's essential message and meaning, grounding it in the context of everyday life in a way that's bound to stick.
-
-
Loving My Life!
- By Julia Loy on 03-26-20
By: Pam Grout
-
Becoming an Eco-Citizen
- Live Leaner, Cleaner and Greener with Everyday's Person Guide to Sustainable Living
- By: Edward Titles
- Narrated by: Andrew Rowe
- Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eco-Citizens are actively taking the initiative to prevent environmental damage to the planet. People are demanding better of themselves and asking corporations to serve global ecology through minimizing destructive and unfair practices and creating sustainable products with people and the planet in mind. Why? Companies must adjust their ethical practices to meet the demand to stay relevant and profitable as the customer becomes more educated on consumer goods and their negative ecological impact.
-
-
A Must-Read for Eco-Conscious Living!
- By Drake on 01-27-24
By: Edward Titles
-
How to Grow
- Nurture Your Garden, Nurture Yourself
- By: Marcus Bridgewater
- Narrated by: Marcus Bridgewater
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marcus Bridgewater has been compared to Bob Ross and Mister Rogers for his soothing TikTok videos that relate botany to humanity. A gardener “who shares tips about caring for one’s plants and oneself” (New York Times) and “is not only a trove of information if you’re looking to flex your green thumb, but a balm for the pandemic-induced chaos happening in the world” (Vogue), his soothing observations on plants and life have made him a social media star. In caring for over 600 plants, Marcus has gained invaluable wisdom.
-
-
A wonderful book
- By Helen McCarthy on 02-21-25
-
Happiness Becomes You
- By: Tina Turner
- Narrated by: Adrienne Warren
- Length: 4 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tina Turner - living legend, icon to millions, and author of the "brave and wry" (Vulture) memoir My Love Story - returns with a deeply personal book of wisdom that explores her longstanding faith in Buddhism and provides a guide to these timeless principles so you can find happiness in your own life.
-
-
Read by Tina Turner (not another)
- By Amazon Customer on 12-12-20
By: Tina Turner
-
A Monk's Guide to Happiness
- Meditation in the 21st Century
- By: Gelong Thubten
- Narrated by: Gelong Thubten
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In our never-ending search for happiness we often find ourselves looking to external things for fulfillment, thinking that happiness can be unlocked by buying a bigger house, getting that next promotion, or building a perfect family. In A Monk's Guide to Happiness, Gelong Thubten, a Buddhist monk and meditation expert who has worked with everyone from Ruby Wax and Benedict Cumberbatch to Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, explores the nature of happiness and explains how to bring meditation into our busy 21st-century lives through simple yet effective exercises.
-
-
Everyone needs to hear this!!!!!
- By Ron B. on 09-11-20
By: Gelong Thubten
-
Under the Sky We Make
- How to Be Human in a Warming World
- By: Kimberly Nicholas PhD
- Narrated by: Kimberly Nicholas PhD
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After speaking to the international public for close to fifteen years about sustainability, climate scientist Dr. Nicholas realized that concerned people were getting the wrong message about the climate crisis. Yes, companies and governments are hugely responsible for the mess we're in. But individuals CAN effect real, significant, and lasting change to solve this problem. Nicholas explores finding purpose in a warming world, combining her scientific expertise and her lived, personal experience in a way that seems fresh and deeply urgent.
-
-
a book everyone needs to hear
- By John on 01-08-23
-
What's Gotten into You
- The Story of Your Body's Atoms, from the Big Bang Through Last Night's Dinner
- By: Dan Levitt
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every one of us contains a billion times more atoms than all the grains of sand in the earth’s deserts. If you weigh 150 pounds, you’ve got enough carbon to make 25 pounds of charcoal, enough salt to fill a saltshaker, enough chlorine to disinfect several backyard swimming pools, and enough iron to forge a 3-inch nail. But how did these elements combine to make us human?
-
-
One of the Very Best Science Books I have Read
- By TStair on 03-20-23
By: Dan Levitt
-
Authentic Gravitas
- Who Stands Out and Why
- By: Rebecca Newton Ph.D.
- Narrated by: Rebecca Newton Ph.D.
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Organizational psychologist and executive coach Rebecca Newton has found that even her most successful clients still want more of one quality: gravitas. They want their words to carry weight, to have a positive, lasting impact on those around them. Gravitas can seem like an elusive, intangible quality, but it isn't about adopting the style of another or being someone you're not. Newton draws on extensive research and experience coaching business leaders to show what underpins authentic gravitas and how anyone can develop it.
-
-
Very useful
- By Vedrana Grbic on 03-29-24
-
The Omega Principle
- Seafood and the Quest for a Long Life and a Healthier Planet
- By: Paul Greenberg
- Narrated by: Paul Greenberg
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Omega-3 fatty acids have long been celebrated by doctors and dieticians as key to a healthy heart and a sharper brain. In the last few decades, that promise has been encapsulated in one of America's most popular dietary supplements. Omega-3s are today a multi-billion dollar business, and sales are still growing apace - even as recent medical studies caution that the promise of omega-3s may not be what it first appeared.
-
-
Solution Focused
- By GCM on 11-17-19
By: Paul Greenberg
-
High Conflict
- Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out
- By: Amanda Ripley
- Narrated by: Amanda Ripley
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
High conflict is what happens when discord distills into a good-versus-evil kind of feud, the kind with an us and a them. In this state, the brain behaves differently. We feel increasingly certain of our own superiority, and everything we do to try to end the conflict, usually makes it worse. Eventually, we can start to mimic the behavior of our adversaries, harming what we hold most dear. In this book, New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist Amanda Ripley investigates how good people get captured by high conflict—and how they break free.
-
-
Perspective and Tools for Conflict-Drenched Times
- By Mark Patterson on 05-19-21
By: Amanda Ripley
-
A History of the Human Brain
- From the Sea Sponge to CRISPR, How Our Brain Evolved
- By: Bret Stetka
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just over 125,000 years ago, humanity was going extinct until a dramatic shift occurred—Homo sapiens started tracking the tides in order to eat the nearby oysters. Before long, they’d pulled themselves back from the brink of extinction. The human brain, and its evolutionary journey, is unlike anything else in history. In A History of the Human Brain, Bret Stetka takes listeners through that far-reaching journey. He also tackles the question of where the brain will take us next, exploring the burgeoning concepts of epigenetics and new technologies like CRISPR.
-
-
Fascinating survey of the evolution of the human brain
- By Cosmos on 03-30-21
By: Bret Stetka
-
Built to Serve
- Find Your Purpose and Become the Leader You Were Born to Be
- By: Evan Carmichael
- Narrated by: Evan Carmichael
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Think about your five closest friends. Are they happy? Do they live their lives with purpose? Do you? We put on a fake front for what we want people to see and think about us, but the reality is most people aren’t happy. We’re lost. We settle. We aren’t happy with where we are. You can’t be happy if you don’t know your purpose. It’s not possible. You want more but you don’t even know where to start. You know there is more out there. You see others having success and you want it, too; there is nothing wrong with that. You just need help finding your purpose.
-
-
THIS IS FANTASTIC!!!!!!
- By Stephanie on 07-29-20
By: Evan Carmichael
-
The Uninhabitable Earth
- Life After Warming
- By: David Wallace-Wells
- Narrated by: David Wallace-Wells
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An "epoch-defining book" (The Guardian) and "this generation’s Silent Spring" (The Washington Post), The Uninhabitable Earth is both a travelogue of the near future and a meditation on how that future will look to those living through it - the ways that warming promises to transform global politics, the meaning of technology and nature in the modern world, the sustainability of capitalism and the trajectory of human progress. The Uninhabitable Earth is also an impassioned call to action.
-
-
Don’t read if you have depressive tendencies.
- By Ricky on 03-17-19
-
This Changes Everything
- Capitalism vs. the Climate
- By: Naomi Klein
- Narrated by: Ellen Archer
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In This Changes Everything Naomi Klein argues that climate change isn’t just another issue to be neatly filed between taxes and health care. It’s an alarm that calls us to fix an economic system that is already failing us in many ways. Klein meticulously builds the case for how massively reducing our greenhouse emissions is our best chance to simultaneously reduce gaping inequalities, re-imagine our broken democracies, and rebuild our gutted local economies.
-
-
Didactic and preachy... and I agree with her
- By plau on 09-25-16
By: Naomi Klein
-
The Truth About Plastic
- The Hidden Dangers of Plastic and How to Protect Yourself
- By: Simeon Nikolov
- Narrated by: Mitch Cook
- Length: 3 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
My book is about plastic pollution and what we have to do to reduce it and protect our health.
-
-
The Truth about plastic
- By Deedra on 02-07-23
By: Simeon Nikolov
Critic reviews
“Will McCallum’s How to Give Up Plastic is an important step in confronting this huge problem. If everyone took up just one of the changes he suggests the planet would be much healthier.” (Mark Kurlansky, author of Cod and Milk!)
“If you care about seabirds, turtles, fish, family, friends, planet, this book is for you - a profound, passionate, and practical guide to taking action on plastics.” (Jennifer Ackerman, New York Times best-selling author of The Genius of Birds)
“When the first plastic bag literally launched 53 years ago, our planet entered the unholy Age of the Plasticene. Microplastics in our clothing? Individually wrapped everything? WTF? It’s no small exaggeration to say this book changed the way I think. It is a welcome corrective, a plangent and necessary call to arms.” (Florence Williams, author of The Nature Fix)
"Accessible and optimistic.... A galvanizing alternative to ominous media prophecies of inevitable environmental disaster.” (Booklist)
What listeners say about How to Give Up Plastic
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Roy Tweedy
- 10-29-24
This book has Informatio few people know about.
This is a great book about Plastic, and how it is getting into all animal life even fish, birds, animals of all kinds even human beings. It is destroying our oceans water, and our world with tons of plastic waist. That almost never goes away it semes like. A very eye opening Book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!