Beth Gardiner, a London-based environmental journalist, has written a new book, "Plastic Inc," which traces the rise in plastic production to oil companies like Exxon and Shell. The book was inspired by Gardiner's discovery that companies were planning to invest $180 billion in new plastic production in the United States alone, with projections to increase output by as much as 40% in the coming decades. The revelation led Gardiner to explore petrochemical and consumer-goods companies' role in creating an economy around disposable plastic. She believes that policies shift responsibility back to the companies making the material. The author also discusses her research on how petro chemical companies became central to the future of fossil fuels and how litter campaigns have reframed plastic as a consumer problem rather than a production one.