Customer Reviews

TRASHED

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The garbage crisis in this country needs more documentaries like 'Trashed' and it brings much needed attention to the problem. That being said, this documentary could have been much better than it was.

The best segments were the ones that focused on the reuse and recycling efforts of companies like Interface and Urban Ore and the individuals living the "freegan" lifestyle of anti-consumption. Unfortunately, the back-to-back interviews with local activists and government officials were tedious and didn't offer much of interest. The politicians they interviewed were predictably evasive and the community activists didn't offer anything other than repetitive preachy soundbites about how awful the current system of landfill dumping is. Neither group contributed anything interesting or useful to the discussion.

This is a good documentary and worth watching once, but it's not the kind of film that you will want to see more than that. It relies too heavily on interviews with corporate spokesmen and community leaders that don't really do more than complain about the problem instead of exploring possible solutions. This film doesn't spend enough time exploring alternatives to landfilling, the segments on recycling and reuse were good but too brief, not to mention the huge areas of the waste management industry that were completely ignored (i.e. waste-to-energy incineration plants, the very lucrative scrap metal industry, collect and reuse schemes commonly seen in Europe).

Overall, this film was good but certainly not great.

"Trashed" is an excellent documentary to increase awareness of the many issues revolving around trash. The U.S. now has around 10,000 landfills that are costing a fortune to maintain, creating massive amounts of methane, and leaching "garbage juice" into water supplies. In addition to the concerns from community activists, one of the most critical voices in "Trashed" is an executive for Waste Management, Inc. who says we need to get smarter and find alternatives to our "primitive" landfills. Among the alternatives are recycling, composting, better design of products, decreasing packaging, capturing the gasses being released by the landfills and much else. Visionary business people like Ray Anderson Mid-Course Correction: Toward a Sustainable Enterprise: The Interface Model propose that our landfills be mined for the resources they hold. Anderson, who is prominently featured in the film, runs one of the world's largest carpet and tile companies. He mentions how the book The Ecology of Commerce informed his own professional transformation.
"Trashed" is an excellent media tool for learning about the problems and opportunities associated with waste. It also reaffirms that there are many topics for us to deal with as a society, but that there are already countless people raising awareness and working on solutions.

See also:
A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil
The 11th Hour
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
Plenty Magazine

I looked at Trashed for use with high school students who were studying materials use. I was disappointed because the information at the beginning seems out of date. New landfills are much better designed with regards to groundwater pollution and methane recapture than those made 20 or 30 years ago. The production doesn't present much information from someone involved with building a new one. In many states, you can't put yard waste into the landfill anymore, a big point of the composting segment. Students might get more from a video that actually shows how a large recycling system sorts the mixed trash because many people won't sort their trash. Trashed doesn't present much about the largest component of the waste stream, mainly construction debris -- used concrete, roofing materials, mixed wood and gypsum walls, etc. I would have liked more information about the efforts being made in Europe to design products with their eventual reuse or disposal in mind. There has to be more out there than the Interface company which shows up in almost every documentary related to sustainable economies.

This film is excellent--while the problems it highlights are certainly frustrating, the film got me fired up to make a change. There are great interviews (particularly Ray Anderson of Interface, Inc.), and I learned a lot. Highly recommended.

This is an engrossing documentary on the history, politics and economics of trash. It doesn't just focus on the problem. It also shows solutions. It's easy to understand and would be suitable for children and adults.

This documentary serves to put human waste and consuption into perspective and to ask ourselves and create awareness for where our waste goes. Interesting at times and definitely thought provoking. I enjoyed this documentary, but my only criticism would be that it is missing something that other intriguing documentaries have. I think it isn't supported as much by facts as it should be. Compelling...yet lacking.

This DVD has stunning visuals, appalling data and a very sad representation of what humans are doing to Earth. It is very real and I highly recommend it, especially for young teens through adults.

We reviewed this movie and are totally sure it must be seen by every American, so much waste, so little time. The landfills are not the answer. Trashed is a great film that tells the story in an engaging way. Could have more solutions, but then we must all begin to create them, and share them - that will be the next video to make.

This vidio was a bit disappointing. Information not real well organized, and limited. Al Gore's was vastly superior. Wish these people would WORK TOGETHER instead of having to do their own thing.
Not recommended.