Trash, Inc.
The Secret Life of Garbage
EVENT: Saturday, February 11 at 7:00pm
Garbage. It's everywhere—even in the middle of the oceans—and it's pure gold for companies like Waste Management and Republic Services who dominate this $52 billion-a-year industry. From curbside collection by trucks costing $250,000 each, to per-ton tipping fees at landfills, there's money to be made at every point as more than half of the 250 million tons of trash created in the United States each year reaches its final resting place.
At a cost of $1 million per acre to construct, operate and ultimately close in an environmentally feasible method, modern landfills are technological marvels—a far cry from the town dump that still resonates in most people's perceptions. Not only do they make money for their owners, they add millions to the economic wellbeing of the towns that house them. Technologies, such as Landfill Natural Gas and Waste To Energy, are giving garbage a second life, turning trash into power sources and helping to solve mounting problems. It's particularly important in places like Hawaii, where disposal space is an issue, and in China, where land and energy are needed and trash is plentiful.
One sure thing about the garbage business: it's always picking up. (40 mins)
Tonight's moderator and post-film discussion leader is marine conservationist and sustainability educator Anna Cummins, co-founder of 5gyres.org, a research organization dedicated to documenting and reporting on plastic pollution in the world's oceans. She was a member of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation's 4,000-mile research expedition studying plastic debris in the North Pacific Gyre and also completed a 2,000-mile cycling/speaking tour spanning from Vancouver to Mexico giving talks about plastic pollution. In 2010 Anna was elected a National Fellow of the Explorers Club.
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center
13325 Beach Avenue
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
310-822-9642
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