What’s better than having Oprah show up on your door step with Tim Gunn and the ghost of Ed McMahon to inform you that you’ve won a billion dollars, the end of environmental degradation, world peace, and a fabulous new wardrobe made from fair trade organic chocolate that you can actually eat once it goes out of style? Um… probably nothing. But yesterday, I experienced maybe the next best thing.
Jeb and Jim from Reel Thing Productions showed up on my door step to spend the day filming and interviewing me about plastic for their new documentary Bag It, directed by Suzan Beraza, a film which “chronicles the global production, use, and disposal of plastic bags and other plastics.”
Check out the trailer for the film which is expected to be completed by the end of the year:
I wish I had thought to photograph or record them as they were recording me because the guys were funny and committed and serious with great hair and winning smiles. Jeb is the star of the film, a regular guy who has recently awakened to the issue of disposable plastic and is traveling the world looking for answers to the problem. The guys have interviewed leading scientists, writers, and activists, and the crew has traveled to Midway Island to film the devastating effects of plastic on the Laysan albatross population.
Here in Oakland, I took them on a little tour of my house, dumped out my plastic collection on the floor, modeled my Plastic Sea Monster costume, and introduced them to my eco-friendly dentist who has significantly reduced the amount of plastic used in his practice. We had lunch at Amanda’s in Berkeley where everything is compostable, and tried to go shopping at a major organic foods chain but were told we couldn’t film inside without permission from the corporate office. I wanted to demonstrate how to buy groceries with zero waste, putting produce directly into my reusable bags and shopping from bulk bins with my own containers. I did manage to get my shopping done anyway and to demonstrate my packaging-free purchases afterwards in the parking lot.
I’m really excited about Bag It! The issue of plastic pollution needs all the media attention it can get — not only on the problems but also the steps we as individuals can take in our personal lives to reduce our plastic consumption and let companies know we don’t want our foods and other products packaged in plastic.
