The Clean Bin Project

So yesterday I finally got to see a film I had been so eager to see since I noticed a poster for it about 2 months ago in Tofino, BC.

The Clean Bin Project.

I noticed a small poster for it on the door of a cafe, which said they were doing a screening in Tofino.  Unfortunately the screening was the day after I left Tofino.  So, I added the details to my phone and connected with one of the makers & stars of the film; Jen, through Twitter and have been constantly following them since.

Thanks to the film festival ‘Projecting Change‘, I was finally able to catch a screening in downtown Vancouver.

The film is made by 2 local Vancouver residents, a couple, Jen & Grant.  They decided to live for an entire year producing the least amount of garbage as possible, going head to head as to who can produce the least.  The film sends a strong and important message and highlights a part of society that I sometimes think is overlooked and ignored by too many people, myself included.

We are a very wasteful society these days and in comparison to our older, previous generations, we seem to have developed a ‘throw-away’ mentality.  The movie highlights this fact very well using humour, but not taking away from the serious issue of a wasteful society.

I can imagine many people thinking, “So what, we won’t be here in the future.” and “Whatever, the planets doomed anyway.”  But this is such a strange way to react to this.  People are so ego driven these days and can be very materialistic and self-centred that they have become detached from the bigger picture, not realizing what an unbelievable gift the earth is, with all its orbiting planets suspended in a ridiculously complex universe with its unfathomable intricacies.  To be given a gift like that, just to mess it up, is a disgrace.

We are all to blame for over consumption and a wasteful nature, but this film has inspired me further to reduce what I use and to really think about if I truly NEED something before I buy it.  It also made me realize that the consumer really does have the power.  If we stop buying goods in plastic packaging, or using take out containers and chose our products wisely, then the corporations have no choice to change their methods.  We all have a conscience, in some it maybe deeper than others, but it’s there.  It’s down to you all as individuals to change.

The moment I got back from the film, I researched a composting method for those living in apartments and found a government ran initiative, so have enrolled in a workshop, which results in being supplied with a composting bin and all required supplies for a mere $25.  A few years ago I bought my parents a compost bin for their garden, I wasn’t too sure they’d use it, but to my delight, they are still using it to this day and are actually amazed at how much waste reduction there is.  It is very simple and I recommend that as many of you as possible start to research composting in your area and get on it.  Lets return what we can back to the earth.  Some good soil for growing things, is better than a ton of methane produced at the dump by rotting vegetables.

Thanks to Jen & Grant and all those involved in making The Clean Bin Project.  It is a huge success and the promise of getting the film out to schools is a fantastic bonus.

If you are interested in a screening at a school, feel free to contact them – visit the site link above, they are very forthcoming and helpful.

Art that grabs you.

During the film, they feature an artist, Chris Jordan.  He expresses the mass consumption disgrace in an amazing way, explaining how the numbers we are fed, mean absolutely nothing, but pictures put this waste into perspective.  Please visit his site and check out his work – I have included one sample below of a bunch of turned in mobile phones – it is staggering the amount of waste that is created.

Stay tuned and I’ll tell you all about how my compost workshop turned out.

Happy Composting……

Al