Films
In this Video Op-Ed, the videomakers debunk a recycling myth that has lulled us into guilt-free consumption for decades.
This short film does a great job breaking down the mysterious world of recycling and the greenwashing surrounding the word “recycling”.
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.
Articles
“Pollution remains a highly sensitive subject in the district. Most interviewees were too frightened to give their names, worried about how local officials might react. Others complained that official secrecy about pollution meant that they could not discover what dangers Zhoutie’s toxic legacy might pose to their own health and that of their families. Zhang Junwei recalled that, when the pollution was at its worst, even people’s sweat was discolored. “Several of my relatives died from cancer very young,” he said.”
Books
Elizabeth Royte tracks down all the components of New York City’s waste from trash and recycling to Christmas trees and sewage. She winds up deep in the complex and not-so-savory world of the United States waste disposal. Learn the truths about plastic “recycling,” sewage treatment, and the ever-growing problem of where to put the ever-growing mountain of stuff we throw “away.”
“Placing a box or a can or a bottle in a recycling bin doesn’t mean you’ve recycled anything, and it doesn’t make you a better, greener person: it just means you’ve outsourced your problem. Fortunately, if that realization leaves you feeling bad, there’s always the alternative: stop buying so much crap in the first place.”
Written by a junkyard-owner’s son, this is an exposé of the global trade in scrap material. From American scrap dealers to a Christmas tree light recycling factory in China (yes, there are factories that work exclusively with Christmas lights), Minter shows us what recycling looks like in practice. It’s not always pretty, not always safe, and not always good for the world.