Healthier Planet

Untangling Plastics offers a step-by-step roadmap from recycling leader Bob Gedert to help us phase out plastics and move toward true sustainability.

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About The Author

Bob Gedert is a Cincinnati-based recycling consultant with forty-five years of experience in guiding communities toward sustainable materials management through a systems approach, bridging recycling best practices and sustainability toward local circular economies. He has experience in building local economic development practices with zero-waste goals through private-public partnerships that utilize local markets for recyclables through innovative entrepreneurship and collaborative business networks.

Previously, Bob served as department director of Austin Resource Recovery, leading the city toward zero-waste goals. In addition to his tenure at Austin, he has served in the leadership of resource recovery in many communities including the city of Fresno, California, as chief of recycling operations; the counties of Auglaize and Highland in Ohio; the city of Cincinnati, Ohio; and communities across Indiana as chief of source reduction and recycling with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

Bob is the former president of the National Recycling Coalition and previously served on the board of directors for the Indiana Recycling Coalition and the Association of Ohio Recyclers. He was also the executive director of the California Resource Recovery Association and a founding member of the California Product Stewardship Council and the National Stewardship Action Council.

In 2019, Bob was awarded the Lifetime Recycling Achievement Award from the National Recycling Coalition. In 2024, Bob was selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who for Expertise in Education and Waste Management.

Bob is an adjunct professor at Xavier University in Cincinnati, teaching climate change. He is married to his college sweetheart, Kathy. His greatest pleasure in life is watching his three children and two grandchildren make a difference in their communities. He enjoys walking in the local parks with his wife.

Untangling Plastics

The Missing Link in Mitigating Climate Change
Available anywhere books are sold on November 14, 2025
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Releasing November 14

Praise for Untangling Plastics

“Gedert’s book is one of the first to make the critical connection between plastics and their climate impacts, in large part owing to the shared root cause of both crises—fossil fuels. As someone who spent his career in the recycling industry, he also rightly underscores that recycling—be it mechanical or chemical—sounds virtuous but isn’t when it comes to plastic. Kudos for plainly saying that by their very nature, fossil-fuel plastics ‘have no place in the circular economy.’ We should all heed the specific actions he lays out, from replacing one’s plastic spatula to ending fossil fuel subsidies.”—Holly Kaufman, director and co-founder, The Plastics & Climate Project; senior fellow, World Resources Institute

“In Untangling Plastics, Bob Gedert offers a detailed one-stop shop for what we must know and what we must do to turn back the clock on plastic dependence. By exposing the recycling farce, the toxic threat, the LCA blind spot, and the climate connection, Gedert illustrates the threat of plastics’ growth trajectory and what it means for the human condition. Importantly, he gets down to brass tacks in laying out the solution. Untangling Plastics is an invaluable user guide to saving our plastic-plagued planet.”

—Jackie Savitz, former chief policy director, Oceana; career plastics campaigner; scientist with training in marine biology and toxicology

“Bob Gedert’s Untangling Plastics leans on personal experience and science-backed research to thoughtfully unravel the toxic, intertwined issues of fossil fuel extraction, plastic production, plastic pollution, and the climate crisis; Gedert importantly shows us that it is only possible to address all of these aspects of the issue together—plastic pollution cannot be solved in isolation.”

—Dianna Cohen, co-founder and CEO, Plastic Pollution Coalition

“Bob Gedert’s Untangling Plastics is a compelling and urgent examination of how plastics contribute significantly to the climate crisis—not just as waste but across their entire lifecycle rooted in fossil fuels. Drawing on his leadership in the zero waste and recycling movement, Gedert exposes the myths of plastic recycling and the deceptive practices of the plastics industry. The book calls for a precautionary approach to safeguard future generations and repositions plastic as a moral issue, not just a policy one.

More than a critique, it’s a call to action—for policymakers, advocates, and especially people of faith—to embrace values of justice, humility, and care for creation. With practical steps and a hopeful vision for a Post-Plastic Age, Gedert offers both a prophetic challenge and a practical road map toward a healthier planet and a more just society.”

—Jay V Bassett, retired EPA; former manager and national advisor, Sustainable Materials Management Southeast EPA Program; steering committee member, The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta’s Care for Creation: Laudato Si’ Initiative

“Untangling Plastics by Bob Gedert, one of the country’s most distinguished solid waste and recycling managers, delivers a critically important message to the general public, government and industry officials, and zero waste activists alike. The book lays out the connections between plastic pollution and the direct threats to people and nature. Yet, there can be life on Earth without plastic pollution. Gedert calls for a ‘hard stop, now’ and then puts forward a clear pathway for collective and individual actions to achieve it. This is a must-read for those working for a fair economy and a sound environment.”

—Neil Seldman, PhD, co-founder, Zero Waste USA; co-founder and board member, Zero Waste International Alliance

“Whether you’re new to the plastic-free movement or one of its most active adherents, Gedert’s treatise on the subject of plastic pollution is indispensable.”—Kristine Kubat, executive director, Recycle Hawaii; founder, Play Without Plastic

“Untangling Plastics is a deeply researched investigation of plastics’ impact on the environment and the health effects on humans. Bob notes more than one hundred actions readers can take to eliminate the harms of plastics, including the advocacy of placing extended producer responsibility on the shoulders of the plastic manufacturers. As Bob notes, the precautionary principle of ‘do no harm’ must be applied to the production of plastics.”

—Heidi Sanborn, executive director, NSAC

“Through vignettes of life on Grandfather’s farm, Bob Gedert reminds us of a time when the ethic of Do No Harm was not just folk wisdom, it was plain common sense: If we are good stewards of the Earth, our only home, the Earth will support us in return. Gedert then reveals, in intricate detail, how the proliferation of plastics and petrochemicals has defiled that reciprocal relationship between humans and the Earth and now threatens our climate, our health, and our very existence.

A memoir, an academic study, and a call to action, Untangling Plastics shows us where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. By presenting a bold plan to counter the momentum of a century of unchecked petroindustrial ambition, Gedert outlines a clear path back to common sense and toward a Post-Plastic Age.”

– Jeremy Drake, Principal, Strategy Zero Waste Solutions; Organizer, MT Plastic Free