Educational Media Reviews Online

Waste = Food is a well written documentary exploring the innovative collaboration between an American architect, William McDonough, and a German environmental chemist, Michael Braungart, as they put into practice the theory of ecological intelligent design. The theory of ecologically intelligent design is that manufactured products, both waste by-products from manufacturing and the actual product itself (when it is finally discarded) should be completely recyclable, either to be used in another product or to become food for the environment.

The documentary has seven chapters that can be easily selected from the main menu. The chapters start with an introduction to the problem of waste, followed by interviews with William McDonough and Michael Braungart, discussing their beliefs and motivations for the work they do and how they came to collaborate together. The interviews are followed by their theory of “Cradle to Cradle,” which is also presented in their book of the same title.

The remaining chapters deal with two famous American manufacturing facilities, Herman Miller, a furniture manufacturer, Ford Motor Company, and a housing program in China. Both manufacturers had new buildings built to replace aging structures. These two chapters would be of great interest to anyone in business who is interested in ecologically sustainable manufacturing. The executives interviewed all note their initial skepticism of working with McDonough and Braungart. One recurring point is how uneasy Braungart’s prior association with Greenpeace made the executives feel. I was struck by how enthusiastic all the businessmen are after seeing the final results of the new buildings. The Ford Motor Company executive speaks about how the Triple Bottom Line is a frequent discussion topic (heavy on the environment, a little on the social aspect and nothing on the profit) but that of all the people he has encountered, only McDonough and Braungart have done something that makes good business sense while promoting intelligent product systems.

This documentary will be of interest to environmentalists, social scientists, chemists, architects and business people. McDonough and Braungart demonstrate how the “what if” questions and the resolve to do more than just “sustain” the environment lead to very creative, efficient and effective ways to eradicate waste.

Awards

• Silver Dragon, 2006 Beijing International Science Film Festival