Life Without Plastic Blog

How clean is your bin?

First, an embarassing confession:  I meant to write this blogpost, er, um, about a year ago. Life happens. Here it is finally. Thankfully, it is still relevant. Correction: More relevant than ever.

Just over a year ago we had the pleasure and honour of co-sponsoring - with our friends at La Forêt and The Black Sheep Inn - a Wakefield, Quebec screening of the funky, powerful, funny, award-winning, *important* indie documentary The Clean Bin Project. I'll get to why it is so important a little later.

The dynamic, waste-busting, film-making duo of Vancouverites Jen and Grant embarked on a year-long project they dubbed their  "zero waste, consumer-free year".

Their mantra:  "The goal is zero landfill waste. For one year we will not buy any material goods and will attempt to live without producing household garbage." 

For the duration of the Project between July 1, 2008 and July 1, 2009, they had three cardinal rules:

1. No buying stuff. (They could not buy any material goods.)
2. No producing garbage.  This means “avoid packaging”. (They could not buy anything that comes in non-recyclable packaging and they had to avoid excess packaging)
3. Take responsibility for your waste. (They had to take all waste produced personally by them home with them to recycle, compost, etc.)

Jen works as an environmental planner and grows a fine garden, and Grant is a self-employed music producer who likes to wear white pants (more on that in the film). Together they show just how challenging it can be in every day life to go zero waste in our consumerist, overpackaged society. As they say, it was "a competition where less is more".

We loved the film for many reasons, but obviously because it beautifully displays the problem of plastics as a key source of waste, especially in the environment. There are superb interviews with a couple of our heros, anti-plastic crusadors Captain Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation and photographic artist par excellence, Chris Jordan.  

This is such an important film because it shows just how much one can have an impact at the individual level when you become aware of the waste you produce on a daily basis. And it provides ways that you can take action. Take a look at the top ten tips Jen and Grant suggest for taking action to reduce waste.

We had the opportunity to meet the smiling Jen and Grant in person at the screening in our hometown last year. Wakefield was one stop on their 7600 km bike ride across Canada screening the film in 30 different communities and inspiring folks like us along the way to work toward clean bins. These are two down-to-earth folks who are helping make this world a better place.

The film is currently screening all over the place (and picking up film fest awards as it goes). We highly recommend checking it out if you get the chance, and if not, DVDs will soon be available for purchase off their site.  Even better, you could organize a screening in your community.  Jen and Grant might even show up to do a fun Q&A after the film. And Grant might even wear his white pants.

Jay Sinha, Co-Owner
LifeWithoutPlastic.com

Waste Land of Wonder -- the elevated art of recycling

We live in an eclectic village of community activists. The spirit of postive change is in the fresh air and in the Gatineau River water that flow through town. One example of that magic is the Wakefield International Film Festival (WIFF), the 'little festival that thought big', as local media have come to call it in lauding the world class quality of its programming and execution. WIFF is led by two passionate champions of documentaries and independent filmmaking, Brenda and Robert Rooney, who run the Festival with help of the dynamic and hilarious local troupe, Theatre Wakefield. It is a festival that inspires change.

We are deeply honoured to be sponsoring the showing at WIFF on Sunday, February 13, 2011 of 'Waste Land' - an utterly mesmerizing film about the depths and heights of life and humanity on this Earth in the presence of something we all know, though perhaps not well enough: garbage. Renowned Brazilian-born, Brooklyn-based artist Vik Muniz takes us on a journey to the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro and the world's largest landfill, Jardim Gramacho. He finds there a thriving community of charismatic 'catadores' or pickers of recyclable materials - not garbage, recyclable materials. Remember that, it's important. 

Muniz works with the pickers to create a form of art that literally oozes emotion, meaning and transformative energy. He photographs certain pickers in symbolic poses, and they then work together to recreate these images as large-scale collages out of materials from the landfill. As the garbage is transformed into art, so are the pickers and their often painful lives. As Tiao Santos, the President of the pickers community association reflects upon seeing his own completed installation, "I never imagined I would become a work of art."

This is a film of striking moments, but one that really hit me was the profound environmental activism the catadores practice and promote as they lobby hard to be recognized by the reluctant local government as a viable part of the recycling industry. They are picking through garbage to make a living - and doing so with great dignity despite being among the poorest people in the world - and they have also created a well-organized, compassionate movement committed to reducing landfill waste and giving garbage new life. Not garbage, recyclable materials.

The pickers have an intimate, practical knowledge of plastic we could only dream of. Santos describes the difference between polyethylene terephthalate and polypropylene by the sound each makes when crushed. And it's certainly the first time I've heard PVC (polyvinyl chloride) - one of the most hazardous consumer product plastic chemicals ever created - referred to as 'filet mignon'.

'Waste Land' has already won lots of awards - Sundance, Berlin, Amsterdam, Dallas, Vancouver... and it is shortlisted for the Academy Awards. If you have the chance to see it, jump at that chance. It will change the way you look at your own garbage. And you will have the privilege of meeting and learning from a group of beautiful, noble, WONDERful human beings who are creating meaningful change with waste.

Jay Sinha, Co-Owner
LifeWithoutPlastic.com

TOXIC AMERICA on CNN with Dr. Sanjay Gupta: The chemicals that surround us...

CNN is about to premiere a feature special called Toxic America focusing on the toxic chemicals that surround us in everyday life, whether we realize it or not. The show will be hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta over two nights (June 2 and 3, at 8pm EST and PST) and will in large part focus on the health and environmental effects of toxins found in plastics. Here's a little video promo of the series.

As explained on the website of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, Night #1 (Wednesday) will be an "hour-long investigative story into the environmental health and justice problems plaguing the community of Mossville, Louisiana. Nestled amidst an alarming cluster of chemical plants, Mossville is home to more PVC chemical plants than anywhere else in the entire country, and has been dubbed the Vinyl Manufacturing Capital of America."

Night #2 (Thursday) will deal with the effects of "hidden toxins" in all of us, particularly expectant mothers and their babies. It will also feature a profile on Jeanne Heagle, who has been living plastic-free for over 2 and 1/2 years. This investigative series links well with the stunning book we have talked about often in the past: Slow Death by Rubber Duck.

Here are some other pieces of info CNN is highlighting in relation to the Toxic America series:

The Produce "Dirty Dozen"
If you're eating non-organic celery today, you may be ingesting 67 pesticides with it, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group - Sanjay Gupta explains how to avoid these chemical residues.

Five Toxics That Are Everywhere: Protect Yourself
A growing body of research is linking five chemicals -- among the most common in the world -- to a host of ailments, including cancer, sexual problems and behavioral issues.  The chemicals, many of which are found in plastics, are: bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA or C8), formaldehyde, polybrominated diethyl ethers.

Toxic Releases, State-by-State
Check out this interactive map indicating where U.S. states rank in toxic releases. As you will see, the chemicals are in the air all over the United States - and it's not difficult to extrapolate these findings to Canada and the rest of the world, where such chemicals are also produced and used:  benzene, dioxin, lead and lead compounds, mercury and mercury compounds, trichloroethylene.

It is encouraging to see that the mainstream media is finally picking up this story. It is so important that everyone understand that for decades the chemical industry has been producing and releasing dangerous chemicals for use in everyday products, without really knowing the potential health and environmental effects of these toxins. It is a global experiment that has been happening with all living beings as the test subjects. Of course, informed consent has never been an option. It is time for corporations (and the government bodies that regulate them) to take full responsibility for their actions - or inaction.

Jay Sinha, Co-Owner
LifeWithoutPlastic.com