Trash Action is more than a “fresh look at garbage.” It’s also a fresh attempt to inspire children to care about our world’s garbage challenges and convince them of their individual and collective abilities to influence good environmental management.

Authors Ann Love and Jane Drake provide updates on garbage-related research, technology, statistics, programs, and challenges. They encourage children to undertake pre-cycling (thinking before acquiring) and refusing (declining to acquire) before becoming involved in “reduce, reuse, recycle” activities. When 3-R activities are in order, Love and Drake promote reducing over recycling, explaining that acquiring less means there’s less to recycle.

Trash Action prompts reflection and discussion by posing good questions (e.g., How much nature do you use everyday?). It supports decision-making by providing simple assessment tools. It proposes activities ranging from realistic and manageable to idealistic and onerous.

At disappointing odds with the rest of the content’s calibre are the book’s two concluding components. Glossary cross-references aren’t consistently reciprocal and the Action List of almost 50 Re-words (e.g., recycle) is a classic case of message overkill.

Still, Trash Action engages and maintains interest with a well-paced content mix and value-added Canadian information, human interest stories, and cautionary tales. Mark Thurman’s characteristic cartoon-style illustrations, rendered in watercolour and coloured pencil, lighten the subject without minimizing its importance. The comic-balloon conversations of his trio of recyclable buddies are an effective means of providing supplementary information, observation, questions, and answers.

Although this book will find its niche as a curriculum, homework, and environmental club or badge resource, its conscientious message warrants handselling and word-of-mouth support to help it reach a broader audience.