Paper or . . .

Plastic is so much a part of our lives that we barely notice how deep we are in it.

Science writer Susan Freinkel's engrossing Plastic traces its effect on our lives, for better and worse, by homing in on eight common objects: the comb, resin stacking chair, Frisbee, water bottle, disposable lighter, IV bag, credit card and grocery bag.

While examining these particular objects in fascinating detail, she finds time to explore the effect of plastic on our everyday lives and habits - in medicine, fashion, child-rearing, food preparation and home design.

She also examines the effect of plastics on the environment, from oceans to landfills. She sets out to trace "the arc of our relationship with plastic, from enraptured embrace to deep disenchantment and the present-day mix of apathy and confusion."

Although the first plastic - celluloid - was invented in 1869, plastics didn't come into their own until the 1930s, and it took World WarII to make them a part of everyday life. While the first plastics were plant-based, and scientists now are exploring ways to go further in that direction, most plastics are tied to the byproducts of the production of fossil fuels.

Freinkel makes the science of plastic production accessible to the nonchemist, and her curiosity about the creation and afterlife of common objects is contagious. Although she emphasizes the dangers of our dependence on the material, she also offers glimmers of hope. She is evenhanded in describing the pros and cons of materials such as plastic tubing - indispensable in medicine but potentially harmful years after its use.

In addition to an extensive bibliography and notes, Freinkel provides a lively "cast of characters" in which she lists the various types of plastic and their uses, noting that polystyrene is "an excellent insulator - of homes, hot coffee, an order of chow mein, a fragile shipment, our heads (when we're biking)."

She makes us look more closely at objects we tend to ignore or take for granted. In her own attempt to make it through a day without touching plastic, she notes that she lasted only a few seconds before realizing that her toilet seat was composed of the material. So she switched to recording the number of plastic things she touched during the day, counting 196 separate items: "lid of cinnamon jar, bread bag, cellophane wrapping of bag of tea, packaging of tea bag, thermos ..."

It's impossible to read her book without developing an appreciation for and a concern about the role that plastic plays in our lives.