“Wasted” Documentary Sheds Light On Greenwashing & Mounting Pile Of Trash Despite Recycling Efforts [Review]

The documentary Wasted reveals the profound connections between waste, human health, and the climate crisis.

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Climate change is real and nature doesn’t care if you believe that’s true or not. Nature will bite back if we don’t take care of it. We’re already feeling some of the effects now such as rising temperatures, changed seasons, and more.

But, aren’t we already mitigating the effects by sorting our trash, recycling, turning off our water taps when not in use, and doing away with plastic straws and bags?

Unfortunately, the solution to save Earth is not that simple. In some ways, we have been misled by some corporations too.

The landfill is filling up. Image: Eco-Business

WHAT DO YOU MEAN? To get a general picture of what’s happening today, the documentary Wasted captured the urgency and the problems countries face right now.

Wasted is a documentary by Eco-Business written by Jessica Cheam and Fraser Morton. The documentary examines our relationship with things around us and explores the profound connections between waste, human health, and climate crises.

The documentary takes viewers on a visual journey across Asia, from landfills to recycling plants, shedding light on the unprecedented volume of trash in this era.

In short, the impact documentary spotlights hidden waste issues around us and reminds us to be better stewards of our natural resources.

One of the unforgettable moments in the film is when an expert confirms that recycling is a myth. It’s a myth because corporations have misled the public about what can be truly recycled. It turns out that less than 8% of recyclable products are turned into new products while the rest end up in landfills.

A way the general public has been misled lies in the “recycle” logos with numbers in the middle on plastic bottles. These logos are made to look like the Chasing Arrows symbol, giving the mistaken impression that it’s a recyclable item. However, it actually shows what type of plastic it is and not all plastic can be recycled.

In addition, the film also showed that many countries will soon run out of landfill space. Despite individual and group efforts to recycle and reduce waste, the landfills are filling up fast.

This is not a tenable solution in the long run because chemicals are already leaching into the ground and it has been found that some of us already have microplastics in our bodies.

A resident in the building facing New Delhi’s Ghazipur Landfill. Image: Eco-Business

In one of the scenes pictured, some people in India have no choice but to live in buildings facing a large landfill. It’s a stark and grim image to think of how the residents fared health-wise and their wellbeing.

One of the experts featured in the documentary pointed out that incinerating our trash isn’t a full solution either because the process would produce toxic fumes. Choosing to incinerate our waste also reduces incentives to adopt more sustainable waste practices.

Keep in mind that this only covers some points featured in the documentary. It’s best to watch it on your own to fully take it in at your own pace.

Is there a silver lining? Are we doomed?

Fortunately and interestingly, Asian countries are doing innovative work to manage the waste problem. Countries like Vietnam, India, and South Korea are doing better in recycling waste but more needs to be done.

It was sobering to realise that there’s an unseen workforce working in parallel with “legal” recycling companies.

These groups are the heroes in my book. Although they are not legally recognized and face stigma, they are currently doing the work not many of us are willing to do. They collect our trash and sort and clean the recyclable items in a warehouse for further processing.

What are the solutions to manage our waste issue?

After the documentary screening at The Exchange TRX, there was a panel discussion featuring Group Head of Legal Compliance & Sustainability Lead Secretariat of CEO Action Network, Chong Kok Wai; Founder of Climate Governance Malaysia, Datin Seri Sunita Rajakuma; General Manager of Penang Green Council (PGC), Josephine Tan; Creative Producer of Eco-Business, Roy Ng; and founder and managing director of Eco-Business, Jessica Cheam.

In Penang, Josephine Tan shared that there are no incinerators used to manage waste. PGC found that they could get the public to lessen the volume of waste by educating the public. They first taught the public how to reduce waste by segregating their waste properly. Once these steps were taken, Tan said not much waste was left.

She added that the largest waste in the state was food waste. The state managed this by turning food waste into biogas and feeding food waste to black soldier flies.

According to Insect School, black soldier flies are fantastic at eating away organic waste. Using these insects to manage waste is an environmentally friendly solution without leaving waste to rot in landfills.

Trash piling on the streets of South Korea. Image: Fraser Morton/Eco-Business

During the discussions, it’s clear the solution to managing excess waste is through political will and proper legislation.

When it comes to holding corporations responsible, it was pointed out that a fine will not deter companies from illegal dumping because the total fine compared to the billions saved in improper waste disposal is considered cheap.

If the government doesn’t work with corporations, nothing will be done.
Chong Kok Wai, Group Head of Legal Compliance & Sustainability Lead Secretariat of CEO Action Network

Another solution is to address the public’s dissonance in the matter. Many people think nature will take care of itself and believe recycling solves everything. Sadly, the reality showed otherwise as illustrated in the documentary.

Landfill in India. Image: Fraser Morton/Eco-Business

Aside from that, the public can affect the supply and demand in the market. As consumers, we can choose not to support irresponsible producers or suppliers who do not adopt environmentally friendly ways to manage waste.

Last but not least, everyone’s vote counts. More can be done if the proper legislation and policies are put into place and practised.

However, it’s not explicitly discussed how companies have been greenwashing in the documentary. While there are variations of CSR projects that seem environmentally friendly, it has been revealed that it’s more often than not a farce.

An example that can be seen is when recycled clothing ends up in another landfill halfway across the world.

If you’re interested in learning more about Asia’s waste crisis, you can find resources here and take a pledge to act today.

Wasted is a miniseries with more episodes in development. Do keep an eye out for screenings here. The screening at The Exchange TRX was held in partnership with PBB Group and CEO Action Network (CAN).

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