Plastic Soup Atlas

The Plastic Soup Atlas of the World deals with the plastic soup on the basis of 60 themes. The first thirty handle cause and effect. How does the plastic soup originate? How did it achieve notoriety? The second set of 30 themes investigates what needs to be done to make it go away again. The book is written for a broad public, and has found its way in to schools and libraries as well as on to countless coffee tables.

Editions

The first copy of the Plastic Soup Atlas of the World was presented to Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, at a two-day plastics-industry conference on Malta in April 2018. The book was presented by Maria Westerbos, the director of the Plastic Soup Foundation. The LIAS publishing house launched the book in cooperation with the Plastic Soup Foundation: English and Dutch editions were released in 2018. The Dutch edition is already the subject of a reprint. The English edition has been re-released in a smaller format by Island Press of Washington DC, and there are also an Italian edition (May 2019) and a Japanese edition (November 2019), with additional chapters focussed on the situation in those specific countries.

Statements regarding the book

Michiel Roscam Abbing, who works at the Plastic Soup Foundation and is the author of the book: “This book fulfills a worldwide need for objective information. Different aspects of the plastic soup are placed in perspective in an accessible manner. That is done with the use of the most recent scientific insights, penetrating photos and infographics.By embracing plastics, humanity has saddled itself with a very complicated and far-reaching environmental problem, that manifests itself differently everywhere. I hope this book will encourage readers to think and to act.”

Jacqueline Cramer, former Dutch Minister for the Environment and chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of the Plastic Soup Foundation: “Everybody should read this book from cover to cover.”

Rebecca Bright, editor of the Island Press: ”Ocean pollution is a critical global issue, and this beautiful book is a resource and an inspiration for those looking for creative solutions. We’re proud to publish this edition of Plastic Soup and bring it to English-speaking readers around the world.”

Read here an interview of the author in Transform.

Order here the Plastic Soup Atlas!