Environmental Production Suggestions: In Production

Most of the waste generated by the entertainment industry comes from set construction and demolition. While there have been amazing gains in minimizing waste from sets, it's still the area with the greatest opportunity for improvement.

It's also the area that is most regulated from an environmental standpoint, so it's not just a matter of "doing good." It's a good idea to contact the city’s Department of the Environment, just to make sure everything you're doing complies with various environmental laws. Every step of the way, there are things you can do to be earth-friendly.

Planet-friendly Set Construction Most of the waste generated by the entertainment industry comes from set construction and demolition. Learn planet-friendly set construction.

Proper Props

A good propmaster or set dresser makes a location look real – or unreal, if that's what it calls for. A really good one wastes nothing, and has a chance to make a statement for the environment almost every day. Learn how to be a really good propmaster or set dresser!

Wood
Avoid using tropical hardwoods that are harvested from rainforests. A number of affordable alternatives are available

Metal
Use steel scaffolding instead of building wood scaffolding. Steel scaffolding is flexible, easily stored and reused, and is becoming quite popular.

Paint
Try and source paints that have been reformulated to eliminate the compounds that evaporate and contribute to smog. Use non-water-based paint for applications where no alternative has been found should be minimized. Spray painting is subject to a lot of regulation for health and environmental reasons, so be sure you know what you're doing.
If you have paint left over, DON'T throw it in the trash. It's considered hazardous waste, and has to be handled separately. The best thing to do is to donate it.
SAASP can organise for leftover paint to be used for graffiti removal in the areas where you shoot.

A list of schools and nonprofit groups also looking for paint is also available.

Climbing the walls
Today, you can find wallboard made with recycled materials.

Donate
You’ve paid for your set materials, why not take the responsibility to donate them when you strike. SAASP is working with communities to distribute left over wood. Even the damaged stuff can be ground and shredded for pet bedding. Please continue reading for more information.

Make it known……!!!!!!
Show everyday environmental choices – whether in homes, offices or stores, show recycling containers. If you're dressing a kid's room, put a poster for an environmental group on the wall. When the family's fixing a meal or sitting down to eat, show organic food containers. If a character is coming home from the market, have the groceries in cloth bags. If folks at the office are drinking coffee, make sure it's in reusable mugs.

Taken from: The SAASP Guide to the Stills Industry

Environmental Production Suggestions: The Green Production Office

Many of the decisions made in the production office affect the way the entire production impacts the environment. Learn how to set up a production office that impacts on sustainable development, without having any noticeable impact on the production itself.

Whether you're on a stills shoot, awareness of issues of sustainable development begins with the very set up of the production office.

In setting up a production office, you can choose to do less of the bad things and more of the good things, without having any noticeable impact on the production itself.

The following are a few easy steps you can take to protect the planet:

Don’t forget; make an effort to buy locally produced goods and products wherever possible – money that stays within the community is good for the community, good for the Stills Production industry. It also contributes to your BEE scorecard……

Callsheets & Printed Materials

Use both sides of the paper. Doing double-sided copies is easy, and you cut in half the amount of paper you use.

Don't use bright-coloured paper on script revisions – it has to be bleached and is harder to recycle

Always recycle old paperwork. Make sure everyone who gets copies has easy access to a paper recycling container.

Office Products

Buy paper with recycled content – the higher the better.

Given a choice with any office product, look for the one with recycled content, or that is recyclable. For example, if you need padded envelopes, get those with fibre padding instead of plastic bubble padding.

Recycle used toner cartridges. Most office supply stores provide postage-paid envelopes to mail used printer and copier cartridges to recycling facilities.

Be sure to provide recycling containers in highly visible locations.

Communicate with cast and crew electronically if possible, instead of sending paper memos.

When you wrap production, donate leftover office supplies to a non-profit group or school. Don't throw anything away – somebody else can use it.

Janitorial Paper and Cleaning Products

Buy paper towels, napkins and toilet paper with recycled content. Today, the quality is comparable to virgin materials. Natural colour is better than bleached.

Avoid cleaning products with toxic chemicals. Nontoxic products are widely available.

Packaging

When you're ordering supplies, ask the vendor if they can deliver in reusable containers, such as plastic crates.

If you're ordering breakable stuff, ask for (almost) any packing material other than styrofoam peanuts – you can get biodegradable peanuts, paper, or even those new air-filled plastic pillows.

Promotional Marketing Items

If you're looking for promo items, try a vendor that specializes in environmental items. SAASP has extensive contacts within the local community. You can get shorts made out of recycled soda bottles, cups made with recycled currency, and even toothbrushes made with recycled plastic that you mail back when they get old (to be recycled again)!