Green That Life
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Sustainable Fashion
    • Garden
    • Personal Care
    • Simple Changes
  • Green Explainers
  • Take Action
  • Commentary
  • Green Reading
    • Environmental Books
    • Best Environmental Fiction for Adults and Children
  • Recycling Resources
  • Green Terms
Green That Life

Your guide to a more sustainable lifestyle

Green That Life
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Sustainable Fashion
    • Garden
    • Personal Care
    • Simple Changes
  • Green Explainers
  • Take Action
  • Commentary
  • Green Reading
    • Environmental Books
    • Best Environmental Fiction for Adults and Children
  • Recycling Resources
  • Green Terms
  • Home
  • Food
  • Take Action

Film Review: The Clean Bin Project

  • May 17, 2019
  • 4 minute read
  • Sara Goddard
The Clean Bin Project
The Clean Bin Project

How do you solve an environmental crisis through individual actions? That’s the seemingly monumental task that Grant Baldwin and Jenny Rustemeyer undertake in The Clean Bin Project. Their yearlong struggle to reduce waste is documented in this charming, yet intensely serious, film.

A delicious buffet at the Clean Bin Project Green Screen. All made from leftovers!
A delicious buffet at The Clean Bin Project Green Screen film series. All made from leftovers!

I watched The Clean Bin Project recently as part of the Rye Sustainability/Rye Country Day School Green Screen Film Series. The event was one of our most successful, with a crowd showing up to see the film and enjoy a delicious zero waste reception provided by the RCDS catering staff.

What’s The Clean Bin Project About?

Is it possible to live completely waste-free? Sounds like an absurd question, but Jen and Grant spend a year attempting to answer just that. They explore whether they can reduce their waste to a single, small bucket of trash.

Both fiercely competitive, they decide what better way to conduct this experiment than with a “friendly” competition? The Clean Bin Project Rules: 1) no buying “stuff”, 2) no producing garbage, 3) take responsibility for your waste.

And so the race begins to reduce. Over the course of the year we watch the couple struggle to keep their consumption to the bare minimum and in the process, learn a lot about our consumer culture.

Why Should You Watch It?

Jen and Grant of The Clean Bin Project
Jen and Grant of The Clean Bin Project

 

A Positive Approach to Raising Awareness

It’s a seemingly silly contest, but the film’s message is entirely serious. Through the prism of this lighthearted story, we learn how and why there’s an environmental crisis of waste buildup as a result of our “throw-away” culture.

Although Grant and Jen’s casual experiment wouldn’t be considered scientific, they weave substantive information and details throughout the film. What struck me most was the extraordinary effort needed to avoid packaging. The irony is that our consumer culture makes it more inconvenient to reduce waste.

Instead of beating this point into the viewer, Jen and Grant show us, in a humorous way, how difficult it is to lead a zero waste lifestyle. One particularly revealing segment is a montage of Jen and Grant saying over and over again to various shopkeepers, “no plastic bag”, “no bag”, “I don’t need a bag”, “no bag, thanks”… It’s hilarious, but effective in underscoring how we’ve been conditioned to automatically reach, unthinkingly, for the single-use convenience item.

Becoming One With “Our” Waste

One of the greatest challenges in cleaning up our waste problem is that so many of us don’t understand the crisis level that we’ve reached. We just don’t see it. Trash conveniently disappears from our homes and then – poof! – magically vaporizes into … somewhere. And all those recyclables get recycled. Right?

Attempts to explain or educate about landfill mountains, methane emissions, ocean gyres, and other environmental catastrophes frequently fall on deaf ears. The issue is just too abstract and people tend to tune out.

To make matters worse, we’re constantly bombarded with the message that consumption is good. It’s the American Way. We don’t truly understand the connection between consumption and waste.

The Clean Bin Project illustrates (literally) this dilemma with an interview with photographer Chris Jordan. Jordan creates compelling images of the effects of our consumer culture. By showing us through these stunning pieces of art the staggering quantity of waste generated by each of our seemingly innocuous purchases, he forces us to face our individual actions. In short, he’s telling us we should be sweating the small stuff.

Keeping it Real

The audience instantly connects with Grant and Jenny. They’re just a young couple trying to do the right thing for themselves and the planet. But they’re human. Grant admits he loves stuff: “I’m an addict. I love toys.” And don’t we all?

Their exercise is to force them – and us – to rethink how we handle our individual purchases and understand the repercussions of those decisions on a global scale.

And they’re certainly not experts. They embark on The Clean Bin Project with guileless energy, only to confront the seemingly impossible problem of waste. There are moments in the film where you sense they won’t be able to handle it all and will just give up. What’s the point, they wonder? Yet they continue on.

It’s this lesson for the viewer which I think is so powerful. If we all throw up our hands and give up, what will that do for our community and the planet? But if each of us starts somewhere, doing something, no matter how small, we can, together, make headway.

Related: 7 Ways to Inspire Others to Take Action With You

A Hope for the Future

Although The Clean Bin Project examines one of this planet’s most devastating environmental catastrophes, the tone remains lighthearted and positive.

A film that’s appealing to all ages, it reveals the power of individual action and encourages us to do the same. As one activist puts it, “the number one thing is to do one more thing. And then do another. And another …”

I was inspired by Grant and Jenny and I think you will be too.

Share
Tweet
Share
Share
Related Topics
  • flim review
  • how to
  • reduce waste
  • zero waste

Subscribe

Subscribe to my newsletter

You May Also Like
15 Smart Ways to Reduce Energy Use and Take Control of Your Soaring Gas Bills
View Post
  • Green Explainers
  • Home
  • Office
  • Simple Changes

15 Smart Ways to Reduce Energy Use and Take Control of Your Soaring Gas Bills

  • April 27, 2022
  • Sara Goddard
Vote for the Planet! Here's how.
View Post
  • Take Action
  • Green Explainers
  • Simple Changes

Vote for the Planet! Your Complete Voter’s Guide

  • April 16, 2022
  • Sara Goddard
Big Meat and Dairy exert an extraordinary level of influence.
View Post
  • Commentary
  • Food
  • Your Carbon Footprint

Big Meat and Dairy’s Unsavory Pushback on Climate Action

  • April 3, 2022
  • Sara Goddard
Even if you can't get outside, you can celebrate Earth Day with a Virtual Earth Day!
View Post
  • Food
  • Garden
  • Home
  • Personal Care
  • Plastic Pollution
  • Simple Changes
  • Take Action

Happy Virtual Earth Day 2022! 9 Ways to Celebrate From Home

  • March 17, 2022
  • Sara Goddard
Earth Day Tip #1: Get Outside!
View Post
  • Food
  • Garden
  • Green Explainers
  • Home
  • Office
  • Plastic Pollution
  • Recycling
  • Simple Changes
  • Take Action

Easy Earth Day Tips for 2022 to Make Every Day a Green Day!

  • March 16, 2022
  • Sara Goddard
The tragedy of Russia's invasion of Ukraine has also underscored the need for framework for clean energy independence.
View Post
  • Commentary
  • Take Action

A Wake-Up Call for Clean Energy Independence

  • March 10, 2022
  • Sara Goddard
Know your facts to debunk climate change myths!
View Post
  • Commentary
  • Take Action

Opening Our Eyes to Climate Change Myths

  • January 20, 2022
  • Sara Goddard
Support for climate equity is needed at the national level.
View Post
  • Commentary
  • Take Action

Looking for Climate Equity? Don’t Expect Much From National Leaders

  • January 17, 2022
  • Sara Goddard
About the Author

Sara Goddard

Green That Life is your guide for sustainable living. Its purpose is to provide practical tools, tips, and resources related to a variety of sustainability topics, including waste reduction, pollution prevention, food waste, environmental activism, and more.

Green That Life founder, Sara Goddard, is an environmental activist, sustainability adviser, and elected official. Sara’s mission through GTL is to provide original content that helps inform and inspire.

Sign up for my newsletter
Follow Green That Life
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
RSS
Featured Posts
  • 15 Smart Ways to Reduce Energy Use and Take Control of Your Soaring Gas Bills 1
    15 Smart Ways to Reduce Energy Use and Take Control of Your Soaring Gas Bills
  • Vote for the Planet! Here's how. 2
    Vote for the Planet! Your Complete Voter’s Guide
  • Big Meat and Dairy exert an extraordinary level of influence. 3
    Big Meat and Dairy’s Unsavory Pushback on Climate Action
  • Even if you can't get outside, you can celebrate Earth Day with a Virtual Earth Day! 4
    Happy Virtual Earth Day 2022! 9 Ways to Celebrate From Home
  • Earth Day Tip #1: Get Outside! 5
    Easy Earth Day Tips for 2022 to Make Every Day a Green Day!
Archives
Categories
  • Commentary
  • Food
  • Garden
  • Green Explainers
  • Green Reading
  • Home
  • Office
  • Personal Care
  • Plastic Pollution
  • Recycling
  • Simple Changes
  • Sustainable Fashion
  • Take Action
  • Your Carbon Footprint
Disclosure
When you buy a product or service through a link on this site, I may earn a small commission. This helps cover the cost of running Green That Life. However, I only recommend products that meet my high standards. Thank you!

Subscribe

Subscribe to my newsletter

Green That Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Green Explainers
  • Take Action
  • Commentary
  • Green Reading
  • Recycling Resources
  • Green Terms
Your guide to a more sustainable lifestyle

Input your search keywords and press Enter.