As part of their time here at The Resource Exchange, we had our interns watch Waste Land, a 2010 documentary about a landfill in Brazil, the people who use the trash in their everyday lives, and the process of turning waste into art. Because the re’s mission is largely focused in efforts to divert waste from landfill combined with getting local artists to ‘make art from the arts,’ this movie is a perfect educational tool.
You can read Doreen and Sienna’s very inspiring essay which reflects upon the film below.
Waste Land
The documentary ‘Waste Land’(2010) follows Vik Muniz who, after years of working as an artist in the United States, returns to his Brazilian homeland to create art out of the many recyclable materials that end up in the Jardim Gramacho, which, at the time, was the largest landfill in Brazil. At the time of the document’s footage, over one thousand people were employed at the Gramacho to collect recyclable materials – an onerous job, especially considering that the landfill received 9,000 tons of garbage daily. The poverty of the nearby inhabitants left many little choice but to work at Gramacho – a fate from which Muniz is grateful to have escaped. Despite this, the recyclable pickers have been able to make the most out of their work, creating the Associação dos Catadores do Aterro Metropolitano de Jardim Gramacho (ACAMJG), led by Tião Santos. The association provided payment for the salvaging of the reusable items.
‘Waste Land’ goes in depth into the lives of several of the workers at Gramacho, many of whom had worked at the landfill for over a decade. Their photographs were taken, and using recyclable materials from the landfill, the pictures were physically remade and photographed again. The photos were then auctioned off and all of the money made went directly to the ACAMJG.
Jardim Gramacho has since been closed as of last summer, but the message of the documentary is still applicable to the present (“Brazil’s Biggest Rubbish Dump Closes in Rio De Janeiro”).This film does an excellent job of informing the viewer of the issues and bringing up questions for discussion.
Oftentimes, we don’t reflect on what happens to our garbage, our thoughts extending only to the curb where we leave it out each week. This film demonstrates that we may have more problems than we realize. Yes; it is good that we don’t litter. Yes; it is good that we recycle our water bottles. And yes; it is good that sometimes we even pick up others’ trash when we see it on the street. We are mindful of our environment when it is in plain sight, but we need to remember that ‘away’ simply means ‘to the landfill and back into the earth’ (and in the case of Rio de Janeiro, it means the homes of the poor).
As this film shows in its bleak footage of the landfill, our garbage completely destroys the land. Toxic chemicals seep into the soil which can only make revitalizing efforts more difficult. The U.S. has in fact, designed landfills that are safer for the environment and has created specific places for the care of the different types of waste (“Landfills, Municipal Solid Waste”) as well as several methods to collect harmful runoff and the methane gas that is released from decomposition However, due to its isolation from the air and ground, the trash cannot decompose efficiently (Freudenrich). “Landfills are not designed to break down trash, merely to bury it. When a landfill closes, the site, especially the groundwater, must be monitored and maintained for up to 30 years! (Freudenrich)”. But trash is not only a problem of the United States and Brazil; it’s global.
With the growing world population, the amount of trash accumulating will increase to the point where we will not know where to put it. ‘Waste Land’ highlights the importance of places like the Resource Exchange which collects and saves reusable materials from local film and theater sets. But reuse centers can only take in so much material, and an effort also needs to be placed in creating more environmentally friendly products for consumers as materials can only be recycled so many times.
Although the landfill, Jardim Gramacho, documented in ‘Waste Land’ is now shut down, there are many more landfills in the world, all of which could use a decrease in their intake. This film does nothing if not illuminate the viewer to take more interest in trash.
Bibliography
“Brazil’s Biggest Rubbish Dump Closes in Rio De Janeiro.” BBC News. BBC, 06 Mar. 2012. Web. 31 July 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18318714>.
Freudenrich, Ph.D., Craig. “How Landfills Work” 16 October 2000. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/landfill.htm> 31 July 2013.
“Landfills, Municipal Solid Waste.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 31 July 2013. <http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/landfill.htm>.
