Plastic China
What happens to our waste after we toss it? Plastic China illustrates the harrowing social ramifications of waste that permeate the lives of those in the country that is the world’s largest plastic waste importer. Following the daily life of Yi-Jie—an eleven year old girl whose family lives on a plastic waste site—the viewer gains chilling insight into how destructive making a living on plastic waste recycling can be for participating families. As Yi-Jie’s schooling is thrown to the wayside along with the mental health of entire families, the viewer learns that our trash takes on a life of its own, seeping deep into the lives of families thousands of miles away—posing public health and environmental threats along with it. Plastic China highlights themes of poverty, inequality, economic “growth” and environmental health in the wake of our generation of consumption.