THE CLEAN BIN PROJECT

A little over 2 weeks ago I went to the screening of "The clean bin project" which was held at Quest University. Funny enough, Peter knew Jen, the main girl, from high school. Here is a little snip-it telling you what the movie is all about...

The Clean Bin Project is a feature documentary film about a regular couple and their quest to answer the question "is it possible to live completely waste free?".

Partners Jen and Grant go head to head in a competition to see who can swear off consumerism and produce the least landfill garbage in an entire year. Their light-hearted competition is set against a darker examination of the sobering problem waste in North American society. Even as Grant and Jen start to garner interest in their project, they struggle to find meaning in their seemingly minuscule influence on the large-scale environmental impacts of our “throw-away society”. Featuring interviews with renowned artist, Chris Jordan and marine pollution expert, Captain Charles Moore, The Clean Bin Project presents the serious topic of waste reduction with optimism, humour, and inspiration for individual action.

This documentary will blow your mind and inspire you to take action all at the same time. It really makes you think about what you are currently doing and how much you are wasting.

This started me thinking about how much waste I produce when I race/train for ultras. I immedietly thought about all the gel packets I use. I guess one solution would be to make my own gels and put it in a re-uasble flask. But even then, I would have to purchase a lot of plastic gel flasks to put them in when I race.

At the end of the entire year, they each had one very very small bin of garbage they produced. It was unreal. Jen started making her own toothpaste and laundry detergent to avoid the plastic tube it comes in. Part of the whole clean bin project was not to buy anything they absolutly did not need for the entire year. So besides food and essentials for work, nothing external was bought- no clothes. Even at Christmas time, everything was handmade for gifts, nothing bought.

If you want to get inspired to make a difference and learn a little bit about what's going on the in world and what we can do about it, I would suggest watching this movie. They are dong screenings all over the city. Check out their website to see when the next one will be showing. They also kept a blog for the year, which is neat because you can go back and learn some things about what they did. They composted everything and eventually turned it into soil to use for growing vegetables/lettuces.

There is actually an appartment down near the lonsdale quay with about 20 different units in it. This building actualy produces NO GARBAGE. They recycle everything. I had never heard about this place before I saw the documentary and I have lived in North Van my entire life. The movie is also very funny, as Jen's husband is a riot. They actually have a competition going between them to see who produces the least amount of garbage in their own respective bins. Their competetiveness adds a comic element to the movie.

Anywho, there you have it. This movie has really got me thinking and I plan to do my own little clean bin project very soon. I just need to establish some guidelines.

So I leave you asking, WHAT DO YOU DO? I am sure many of you are already doing so much and I'd love to hear about it.