Be more imaginative to attain zero waste: US filmmaker

New Delhi, Oct 27: While the city just observed its first car-free day, a documentary filmmaker from the US has appealed Delhiites to get more creative and imaginative to attain the aim of zero waste.

Christopher Beaver's "Racing To Zero" is a quick-moving, upbeat documentary presenting new solutions to the global problem of waste. The movie was screened during the 8th edition of the CMS Vatavaran Film Festival here.

The essence of the film calls for simply substituting the word 'Resource' for the word 'Garbage'. In doing so a culture can be transformed and a new wealth of industries can emerge, it says. According to Beaver, the idea of the film is not to have any garbage.

"There should be no waste from the things we use, everything can be recycled, If it can be done in the US, Why not here?" he asks.

The film has been entirely shot in San Francisco and attempts to make people understand the need of zero waste and the means to attain it.

"We are sharing the information here also (Delhi) in India. So it is a communication. The cleanest city, New York is very large. There are long ways to go, to solve the problem of wastage. It needs larger creativity and imagination. The city which is now polluted can become the cleanest, so there is hope," Beaver said in an interview.

The filmmaker who has also directed the film says the documentary is filled with solutions and propagates techniques such as recycling, composting, reusing and the idea of consuming less. According to him the consumption in the US is much more that what occurs in India.

"The history of India was good for zero waste. In the earlier time, villages had a much better system of waste management," says Beaver.

The film which is produced by Diana Fuller provides answers to all types of recycling techniques especially that of electronics.

"We can recycle electronics, very safely. They have to be taken apart, the small plastic materials can be used again. Lot of parts of mobiles and computers can be reused again, says Beaver. Producer Fuller says, "In some places especially in Africa, the waste plastic is sent to Africa and China. They burn the plastic and the poison which comes out kills all Africa. 80 per cent of humans are killed by the after effects if pollution."

"The main idea of the movie was to see how much can we recycle without incineration. How easy is it to do with small materials like glass, paper. Can we have a zero waste. The part of the film is actually a question whether zero waste can be acquired," she says.

PTI