Our waste is burying us. Some cities - like Singapore - will soon have no room for their dumps (we're saying 2035), and even our efforts to recycle or reuse are useless: it's better today to look at other "R "s, refusing what we can do without, and reducing our needs. Every time I set foot in a landfill, I'm speechless: all of our little wastes put together accumulate into oceans of garbage, mountains of junk... It's stunning, and a bit depressing. I was invited to make five episodes of a documentary series for the TV5 channel. It's about exploring 5 cities around the world to see how they manage the huge amount of garbage produced by our species. Let me share with you the behind-the-scenes story of Espèce d'ordures.
By Arnaud Bouquet
Director, screenwriter and director of photography
My colleagues and I on the series refrain from moralizing about the series because we are not blameless, far from it. In fact, although I am aware of the problem, I have a hard time changing my behavior. And that's what's most disturbing. Our first shoot took us to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for 5 days. We left with research that was prepared several weeks in advance. For this episode, we dealt with what characterizes the city of Rio: the informal organization of recycling which is the responsibility of a mass of very poor citizens, miserable even, who survive thanks to this, and who are called in a somewhat scornful way the "catadores", that is to say, the "scavengers". These people often work in families on the street, recyclers from generation to generation, they are at the bottom of the social ladder, yet they perform an essential task for society and the planet! In the context of global pollution, they are heroes, heroines, yet perceived by some as the waste they pick up. Fortunately, things are slowly changing, and unions are being set up to unite these workers so that they are recognized by the authorities and employers.
Wonderful encounters
We also met other great people who will appear in the documentary. Like these bodyboarders who clean the beach of Sao Conrado, one of the most beautiful of the city, but which is asphyxiated by plastic waste: we even find more and more sea turtles washed up on the sand, suffocated by plastic ingested at sea. Or this kitesurfing fanatic who makes coats out of old used nylon canvas. Indeed, a kitesurf canvas is used for 300 hours, but the nylon that makes it up will take 350 years to decompose when it is thrown away... Hence his idea of upcycling - over cycling - by making windbreaker coats from canvas. In an interview, he reminds us that the most polluting industry in the world is the clothing industry and that fast fashion is a catastrophe. His DNA: slow-fashion, which he champions. As an ambassador for a brand like Chlorophylle, I am naturally concerned. And it is by choosing some pieces only for their solidity, their reliability, and their real utility that I think about my shooting case.
Traveling in time, diving into memories.
Speaking of Rio, and to leave the shooting for a moment, every trip to this city is for me a trip back in time. When I was barely 20 years old, I lived a passionate story with a Carioca girl named Sabrina, but also with this wonderful city with a very strong culture. I sweated nights over a Portuguese dictionary to write passionate love letters. But it was a country and its history that got into my heart. It happened to me twice, three if I include Quebec, true love at first sight, where I settled at the age of 21 after leaving France. There are countries like that which play a special role in our lives, which mark out our existence, in my case: Brazil and Quebec, but also Cambodia and Palestine. Places that forge us, people that build us. I recommend these countries to anyone who loves travel, adventure, and strong human encounters.
Beautiful Rio
When it comes to arts and culture, Rio does not leave its place. Because this city transpires culture, whether it is dance and music of course, but also theater and cinema. That's how I met it, thanks to an initiative that brought together young people from all over the world to create a short film. Another passion - for images - has never left me.
This same passion brings me back to Rio to talk about a less glamorous aspect, that of its waste. But where art and culture still sneaked in: we also shot a sequence of the episode in backstage at the Rio Carnival. Indeed, the Samba school of Grande Rio won the carnival in 2022 thanks to a float and costumes inspired by the life of the "catadores", "scavengers"! A wonderful tribute thought by the artistic directors of this school, who imposed to their team the use of recycled products to build floats and costumes. A way to wake up the provincial and national authorities on the need to better finance recycling and waste management.
Did you enjoy the behind-the-scenes look at the show Espèce d'ordures? Stay tuned as I'll share more stories from the set in a future article.
Learn more about the series Espèces d’ordures.
See the trailer of the series.
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