"Garbage: The Revolution Starts at Home" Comes to the Upper Valley

/in

Upper Valley Land Trust, Vermont Earth Institute, Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club, Sustainable Hanover, League of Women Voters of the Upper Valley, and Greater Upper Valley Solid Waste District will co-sponsor the film Garbage: The Revolution Starts at Home on Tuesday, June 23rd at 7pm at the Howe Library’s Mayer Room, Hanover. This 76-minute documentary features the McDonalds, a husband, wife, and three young children from Toronto, who agree to star in the film as guinea pigs by storing three month’s worth of garbage in their garage.

The film explores the origins of the McDonald’s garbage and traces its path once it leaves their garage. Director Andrew Nisker takes the viewer to landfills, recycling centers and to the heart of Toronto’s multi-million dollar “wet garbage” processing plant – a place where city residents’ food scraps, paper towels and kitty litter are all processed into composting material.

The film tackles more than garbage – it looks at the negative aspects of phosphates in laundry detergent, heavy metals in the human body, and the ways in which communities in Michigan deal with their status as the dumpster for Canada’s trash. The film addresses the implications of lifestyle issues, such as energy use and mountain top mining for coal, which is the energy source for Toronto families like the McDonalds. Together, the McDonalds and viewers of this documentary discover that for every action there is a reaction that affects them and the entire planet. The film places the focal point of change in the home, and enables viewers to see the ways in which seemingly minor decisions can make a big difference in terms of the health of the earth. According to Nora Doyle-Burr, Programs Coordinator of the Upper Valley Land Trust, “We sponsors have come together with our mutual concerns to raise public awareness and action to use less energy, fewer natural resources – and to not pollute and despoil the environment.”

For more information about Garbage see http://www.garbagerevolution.com/. There will be a short discussion following the film; attendees will be encouraged to think of ways that they can take action to reduce our garbage. The event is free and open to the public. Bring your bowl and cup for free popcorn and drinks. For more information contact Barbara Duncan at vei@valley.net or 802-333-3664.