#SustainableSetLife

Recently I decided to Instagram Story about how I spend my day producing zero waste while working on set, (you can find it on my sustainability highlights). It was a commercial shoot and the day was long, so it was a fun little side kick to the 12 hours spent in the sun.  My goal was to shine a light and influence my friends and peers in the industry to follow suit. Highlighting the extra five minutes it takes in the morning to prepare for a zero waste day.  The response was wonderful!!  So many messages, questions and comments from industry people who were inspired to do their part.  It was so exciting for me!  I absolutely love the film industry.  Waking up at four am to get to set and spend between ten and fourteen hours with all these hard working, artistic, go-getter people creating something stellar.  The energy is always just awesome! 

I also love crafty, (catering) and the options we get to choose from for breakfast, lunch and snacks throughout the whole day are just glorious.  But, it’s a tremendous amount of work to feed up to 200 people in a day for every meal!  So understandably, one result of this hustle in numbers is the large production of waste that is produced.  Seeing the dozens of trash bags that accumulate during the day tugs at my heart strings.  You’ve got paper plates, disposable coffee mugs with plastic lids, plastic or wooden cutlery, paper napkins, wrappers of individually wrapped snacks and the exorbitant number of plastic water bottles.

Now, there are some catering companies who are very proactive.  They serve lunch on regular plates, use silverware, provide sharpie pens for writing on your plastic cups and bottles as well as the big water dispensers to refill canteens. There are stories of directors who respect pristine foreign countrysides they’re shooting in and ban plastic water bottles. Leonardo DiCaprio is notorious for ensuring his sets are extremely low in trash production. And there’s a company out of NYC called Earth Angel that works on various sets and actually saves production companies money because they ween out the excess costs of accumulating trash by providing eco-friendly alternatives. Example: The average film set spends $11,175.00 on flats of single use water bottles alone. Yikes!

This is where us talent, crew, costume, hair, make up and production come in:  Bringing in our own little kit, to decrease waste. Now here’s my math…  Realistically, it takes twenty people to fill up one garbage bag with their “stuff” in one full day.  If this article inspires 19 other people to get enthused and commit to producing nothing, that’s one less trash bag.  Let’s say this is a five day shoot.  So that’s five less trash bags.  To take it one step further… That’s one set out of how many shooting on a daily basis in LA?!  Imagine we inspire this on ten sets.  We’ve just eradicated fifty bags of trash people.  That’s pretty much one dumpster truck a week.  Read that?!  One dumpster truck a week!  And it’s so simple. Get your little Wonder Woman lunch box ready.

1. Water Bottle

Super easy and basic.  Take one canteen, fill that baby up with ice cold water before you leave home and keep it with you.  The 1 liters are great and can last a full day.  If there’s no big water cooler to refill and you have to reach for a plastic bottle, it’s at least better to use one than three during the day.  (If you’re working in LA, I’d recommend getting a canteen that has reliable insulation as so much of what we film is in the sun, you want to keep it cold!)

2. To-Go Coffee Tumbler

Also fairly straight forward.  Bring one in and use that for you morning and afternoon coffee pick up.  Also keeps your coffee hotter longer!  So when you’re called to set unexpectedly and come back, it’s still steamy.

3. Tupperware

I bring two sizes with me: one big for breakfast/lunch and one small for crafty snacks.  When you’re finished with breaky, splash a little water in it, swirl it around and dump it to clean.  You’re good to go for lunch!  Another fun trick is that the container gives you the option to save food for later.  So if you’re craving the brownie after lunch, but want to save it for later because you’re full… you can!  The small container is great for crafty snacks during filming.  When the big bags of trail mix, M&M’s and dried fruit are out, instead of using your hands or the little paper bowls, you got a container!  Fill it up and save with you for the rest of the day.

4. Cutlery

Knife.  Fork.  Spoon.  Done. Bring those from home for the day.

5. Dish Towel or Cloth Napkin

Wrap the cutlery in a dish towel or cloth napkin to keep it safe.  And now you have a classy alternative to paper napkins so you’re not taking and tossing more than you need!

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Now… Let’s spread this article like it’s plastic in the ocean and it’s 2006!  All over the place. We’re also going to coin the hashtag of “Sustainable Set Life”. I’m surprised it’s not even a thing! I checked. Snap a picture, make a story, share on pinterest and instagram. #sustainablesetlife