The waste we discard does not disappear. That is impossible, because the Earth is a closed system. Our waste only seems invisible because we dilute it with water, cover it with earth or have the wind blow it away. But in the end, we cannot avoid encountering it again. In our drinking water, in the air we breathe, in our food and in our body. In this episode of Backlight, the designer William McDonough and the chemist Michael Braungart discuss the solution to this problem: the principle of Waste = Food.
An inspiring documentary on the Cradle to Cradle design concept of the chemist Michael Braungart and the architect William McDonough.
Man is the only creature that produces landfills. Natural resources are being depleted on a rapid scale while production and consumption are rising in nations like China and India. The waste production worldwide is enormous and if we do not do anything we will soon have turned all our resources into one big messy landfill. But there is hope. The German chemist Michael Braungart, and the American designer-architect William McDonough are fundamentally changing the way we produce and build. If waste would become food for the biosphere or the technosphere (all the technical products we make), production and consumption could become beneficial for the planet. A design and production concept that they call Cradle to Cradle. A concept that is seen as the next industrial revolution: design every product in such a way that at the end of its lifecycle the component materials become a new resource.
But also design buildings in such a way that they produce energy and become a friend to the environment. Large companies like Ford and Nike are working with McDonough and Braungart to change their production facilities and their products. They realize that economically wise, waste is a destruction of capital. You make something with no value. Based on their ideas the Chinese government is working towards a circular economy where Waste = Food. An amazing story that will definitely change your way of thinking about production and consumption.
This documentary won the Silver Dragon at the Beijing International Science Film Festival 2006.
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Credits:
Director: Rob van Hattum
Research: Gijs Meijer Swantee
Production: Karin Spiegel and Madeleine Somer
Editors in Chief: Doke Romeijn and Frank Wiering
English, French and Spanish subtitles: Ericsson.
French and Spanish subtitles are co-funded by European Union.
We hope you enjoy tonight’s documentary. Don’t forget to use the caption in order to see your subtitles.
Next Sunday we will publish a very interesting documentary about the financial brain of London City. A study of adrenaline, testosterone, addiction, and the magic of big money.
There needs to be a consideration for styling too. you cannot design something that's unattractive, or which will go out of style. that's one of our big issues are things being thrown out when they go out of style. Or not sell in the first place, due to ugliness. Same is true for architecture as well as shoes or chairs. There's something very inhuman about the buildings designed by the NYC architect. Pretty roofs, but no design or detail put into the faces, just sheets of glass.
Don't really get the whole plastic book idea, because you can already compost or recycle a paper book. You can't compost a plastic one, and recycled plastic always leads to lower and lower grade plastic. And wood is a renewable resource, unlike plastic.
holly shit there are so many great people in the planet and we still trying to destroy it all because of money power and control. how nice would it be if we could work together and just move forward. its now 2020 and we still almost the same. Sad
Man is his own worst enemy. Greed and continued waste. Procrastinating change. By 2020? Im commenting right now and its December 2019.. you do not have to be a genius to see you and I as well as everyone else is destroying the one thing that sustains us… Earth. I really don't documentaries like this. Its to bad majority of people do not really realize or they are just completely brainwashed consuming piles of shit. To me I will be happy to know that you and I both will become a part of this planet in the end. Unfortunately I think its to late. Mother Earth will wipe us clean off soon enough and we have nobody else to blame other than ourselves. Its infuriating to me how careless most people are. They should be shot. Or become part of the local landfill. More people need to act on this now. Its not a laughing matter we can just wipe under the rug. We need to do everything we can to try to repair what mess we have created. Yes you the consumer reading my comment you are just as guilty as everyone else. Stop watching documentaries on the topic and get off your ass and help.
DELIVER THE POOR AND NEEDY :rid them out of the hand of the Wicked. They know not, neither will they understand, they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course…. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof,,because they have transgressed the law, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant…. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, the book of Hosea chapter 4 verse 1. Verse 2.. The book of Roman chapter 8 verse 22.. The book of zephaniah chapter 3 verse 1… The book of isaiah chapter 28 verse 8….
The Herman miller guy tore off the foam of the armrest..lol. the executives have so little knowledge of their products and get all the money and fame but the real people who knows the product in and out are never rewarded..capitalism at it's best.
Benefit of hindsight – what happened to all these ideas? Are they out there?
This documentary is now 12 years old and the scale of waste – of plastic waste that is never recycled – has skyrocketed.
The problem has got worse, so I can only assume these ideas are either still in fruition, are too 'expensive' for manufacturers or the fossil fuel industry has lobbied against them – successfully.
It is estimated that as little as 10% of plastic is recycled. The rest ends up in the environment, either burned, in landfill or in the oceans, in animals, in the air, in the water, in us.
The fundamental error that was made here was in his last few sentences. He really believes that a democracy promotes more effective and timely change than a more dogmatic system of social government . Everything proves exactly the opposite .
Hello!
We hope you enjoy tonight’s documentary. Don’t forget to use the caption in order to see your subtitles.
Next Sunday we will publish a very interesting documentary about the financial brain of London City.
A study of adrenaline, testosterone, addiction, and the magic of big money.
See you next Sunday!
There needs to be a consideration for styling too. you cannot design something that's unattractive, or which will go out of style. that's one of our big issues are things being thrown out when they go out of style. Or not sell in the first place, due to ugliness. Same is true for architecture as well as shoes or chairs.
There's something very inhuman about the buildings designed by the NYC architect. Pretty roofs, but no design or detail put into the faces, just sheets of glass.
Don't really get the whole plastic book idea, because you can already compost or recycle a paper book. You can't compost a plastic one, and recycled plastic always leads to lower and lower grade plastic. And wood is a renewable resource, unlike plastic.
holly shit there are so many great people in the planet and we still trying to destroy it all because of money power and control. how nice would it be if we could work together and just move forward. its now 2020 and we still almost the same. Sad
41:44 she does look like her dad doesn't she?
Man is his own worst enemy. Greed and continued waste. Procrastinating change. By 2020? Im commenting right now and its December 2019.. you do not have to be a genius to see you and I as well as everyone else is destroying the one thing that sustains us… Earth. I really don't documentaries like this. Its to bad majority of people do not really realize or they are just completely brainwashed consuming piles of shit. To me I will be happy to know that you and I both will become a part of this planet in the end. Unfortunately I think its to late. Mother Earth will wipe us clean off soon enough and we have nobody else to blame other than ourselves. Its infuriating to me how careless most people are. They should be shot. Or become part of the local landfill. More people need to act on this now. Its not a laughing matter we can just wipe under the rug. We need to do everything we can to try to repair what mess we have created. Yes you the consumer reading my comment you are just as guilty as everyone else. Stop watching documentaries on the topic and get off your ass and help.
DELIVER THE POOR AND NEEDY :rid them out of the hand of the Wicked. They know not, neither will they understand, they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course…. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof,,because they have transgressed the law, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant…. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, the book of Hosea chapter 4 verse 1. Verse 2.. The book of Roman chapter 8 verse 22.. The book of zephaniah chapter 3 verse 1… The book of isaiah chapter 28 verse 8….
JAPAN DOES WASTE RIGHT
The Herman miller guy tore off the foam of the armrest..lol. the executives have so little knowledge of their products and get all the money and fame but the real people who knows the product in and out are never rewarded..capitalism at it's best.
The felt from 6:40 looks like the disaster relief/homeless blankets that I'm familiar with seeing here in the west. 🇺🇸
This is the best
Benefit of hindsight – what happened to all these ideas? Are they out there?
This documentary is now 12 years old and the scale of waste – of plastic waste that is never recycled – has skyrocketed.
The problem has got worse, so I can only assume these ideas are either still in fruition, are too 'expensive' for manufacturers or the fossil fuel industry has lobbied against them – successfully.
It is estimated that as little as 10% of plastic is recycled. The rest ends up in the environment, either burned, in landfill or in the oceans, in animals, in the air, in the water, in us.
Make a new kind of human that doesn't waste so much or consume so much
The world is too far gone already. We should have been thinking about all this stuff in the 60s.
HOW ARE WE DOING NOW 2019?
Economy is a balanced system based on inventories. We never had that.
Watch the video on food waste effects and its management.
https://youtu.be/Q3veb7_JwSs
Hope you like it. Thank you 😊
The fundamental error that was made here was in his last few sentences. He really believes that a democracy promotes more effective and timely change than a more dogmatic system of social government . Everything proves exactly the opposite .
omg MADE IN cHINA???? WTF
One-of the problems is most Governments are in the pockets of manufacturers, they say jump, they reply how high. In my opinion.