The Clean Bin Project is the title of the resulting movie that attempts to answer the question, is it possible to live waste-free? Local filmmakers Grant Baldwin and Jen Rustemeyer came quite close, having both accumulated only four pounds each of waste in one year.

 

Grant, a Nanaimo resident for many years, admits he has come a long way from his high school days when trash was not something he thought twice about. Years later, Grant eventually suggested an idea for a documentary, which then grew into a friendly competition between him and his partner Jen to see who can swear off consumerism and consequently, produce the least amount of garbage in a full year.

 

So where does one start when attempting the near impossible? The movie starts off in the summer of 2008 when the couple’s challenge first began. Viewers are introduced to the only three rules of the competition: 1) No buying stuff 2) No producing garbage that cannot be recycled, and 3) Take responsibility for your waste, as in, take it with you and do something about it.

 

What follows in the film is a very real look at how different life in the twenty-first century could look like if we cooled our consumption habits, and in turn reduced our waste. Audiences are kept in suspense as to which person wins the competition, and each scene presents a new challenge the couple faces. Their uplifting attitude and great sense of humour about acheiving the overall goal keeps audiences engaged throughout.

 

A large focus of the film compares our North American throw-away culture of today, with our previous way of living, and leaves the future to speculation. Grant and Jen invite us into their lives for one year as they struggle with grocery shopping, homemade hygiene products, and gift giving during holidays. Impressively enough, they successfully pull off their mission. It began with small changes, like at Christmas time, the pair had to master the art of giving “experiences” rather than possessions, making a lot of their own gifts, and wrapping gifts in festive cloth bags used year after year. The changes are simple enough to make, and this film proves it!

 

With such daunting subject matter, one would expect to feel saddened or upset by the end of the film, but the pair has fun with the challenges and show that viable alternatives are out there, and slowly things can change. Just like cassette tapes didn’t last forever, Grant and Jen are hopeful that alternatives to our throw-away culture may be slow to catch on, but could eventually reveal themselves.

 

The Clean Bin Project film features interviews with renowned artist, Chris Jordan, and marine pollution expert, Captain Charles Moore, amongst other activists. Crucial film moments are the look at all of the plastic now littering Midway Island via migrating Albatross birds, and the tour of the Vancouver landfill that Jen considers surprisingly well-managed.

 

So far the film has had more than 35 screenings across Canada, is currently being entered in national film festivals, and will be followed up by a DVD release very soon. As stated by the film makers themselves, Grant and Jen’s light-hearted rivalry is “set against a darker examination of the sobering problem of waste in North America,” which makes this documentary a must-see, and one worthy of a larger audience. For more information about how Grant and Jen produced only eight pounds of waste in one year, visit www.cleanbinmovie.com and see "Steps Toward Zero Waste" to learn how you can get started today.