greencity
Cleaning Up the
Film Industry
by Terrance Edwards
In a little over eight months, more than 28 Many of the items collected are donated to
tons of waste was recycled by Eva Radke and charities like Socrates Sculpture Garden, Girl
her organization, Film Biz Recycling. With 15 Scouts of America, and various homeless shel-
years of experience in the film industry, some ters throughout the city, said Radke. What’s
help from past associates, and a fair bit of re- left is stored away in Film Biz Recycling’s prop
search, Radke has successfully pioneered gree- house to help fund the organization.
ner methods for the film industry. Certain items are impossible for production
Described as a liaison between the environ- companies to rent in Manhattan, so they often
ment and the media, Radke’s organization has must buy them and usually toss them away
greatly improved upon the bad habits of the film when the production team is finished filming.
industry. After a film is declared a wrap, her or- Instead of disposing of these items, Radke re-
ganization comes in to collect the lumber, pain- tains them for film makers to rent or borrow
ting supplies, costumes, rugs, and any other for future projects. Before Film Biz Recycling,
salvageable materials you might expect to find Radke often spoke to aspiring film makers in
on a film set. the Young Brooklyn Film Makers Association
and donated props to selected projects. When
“In the good old days it was a lot less expen- she found a way to help clean up the city and aid
sive and complicated to simply rent a dumps- young film students, it was a step that seemed
ter than to hire somebody to make sure that only natural.
every little bit of unused material goes to an
environmentally and socially sound end.” “I am a film enthusiast first,” said Radke.
“To be honest, I became an environmentalist
Knowing how enormously wasteful film pro- after I started this. I knew it was wrong, but I
duction can be and the need for certain materials was too busy to really know why.”
in New York for film production, Radke devised a
self-sustaining business model that could direct- Currently, Radke employs a small team of staff,
ly impact New York City and the environment. freelancers, and on-call volunteers working to create
a sustainable film industry in New York City. Using her
reputation, wealth of experience and knowledge, she
is creating an internship program for students inte-
rested in environmentalism or film. She also hopes
to extend her talents to other urban communities
like New Orleans, where they are building the first
green LEED certified studio, acting in this project as
a consultant.
“This can be replicated in every city,” said
Radke. “If New York was funded and running, I
would [consult] for free… This is not about ego
or money; this is about keeping these mate-
rials out of land fills.”
For more information,
log on to
www.filmbizrecycling.com
OUR GREEN BOOK 19
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