Less to throw away, with pictures!

Since deciding to embark on this project and after reading Elizabeth Royte's fantastic book Garbageland, I have been looking for ways to change my life in terms of what I throw away. I think I have stumbled upon two relatively simple ways that I can succeed, and they are things that everyone can do. Firstly whilst depositing a check at the bank today, I noticed that I was the only person who did not request a receipt after my transaction. I never do, mainly just because I don't want a paper record of what I am doing at the bank. Someone might find it in the garbage, steal my identity and start spending all of my money. Don't worry, it wouldn't go far. Then I realized I can kill two birds with one stone here: if I don't ask for a receipt, it is less to throw away. Imagine if everyone you knew didn't take a receipt from the ATM. I have no idea how to calculate that, except to ask everyone at the bank to put their receipt in a bag and weigh it (is that creepy?), but it seems like it can cut down on an awful lot of trash.

I also decided to start paying my bills online. At first this seemed like a shady idea, what with all of the hackers and online terrorists out there looking for my bank information. However I found an option that not only allows me to not write checks (which will eventually be thrown away), but it also stops sending the bills to my house, which I always throw away, or keep for some time then throw away. In the interest of the film, I guess I could keep going with the bills-in-the-mail to see how much I am reducing in a year, but I would rather feel like I am making a difference now.

Enough of that optimism. I would like to leave you with some disturbing pictures. These are images that I am sure Wes and I will revisit during the film, so you can get a preview of what we are after. This is a pile of garbage I saw while shooting in a building in Midtown Manhattan. This is the garbage accumulated in one week at one restaurant on a fairly quite midtown street. Look at what we are putting back into our Earth. Maybe you, like me, will never look at a restaurant the same way again.




(click for BIIIIIIIIIG)