Week 4: Guest Speaker & Art Installation/Video (BLT)

Guest Speaker: 

Notes & Reflections

• Residual trash is the most common trash that we get 
  • Dirty paper – if clean then you can recycle them but you can’t recycle used trash
  • There’s small stuff like cigarette butts, even within plastic there is clean and unclean
• Wet trash is the smallest category – usually food waste 
• Recycling is a large category – clean plastics, computer parts (metals), etc.
• Toxic trash (small category) – electronic related, chemicals, lightbulbs, smaller scale, batteries, things like expired medicines, unsure things that may or may not be trash
• Starts at 5:30 am – to clean the trash cans for the morning rush at 7 am 
• Residual trash car/truck that comes and collects at 5:30 am to collect the trash from last night 
• Wet trash will come during noon to collect the wet trash – no trucks usually come at night
• The job will end at 10:30 pm – sleeps at 11 pm (work hours/work, in general, is also dependent on if a company comes/asks for waste)
• Trash is a lot cleaner now after all the changes – but there are still people who don’t follow the new rules and regulations 
• 2/10 people will not be following the new rules 
• Toxic trash is rarely collected but there’s usually not enough, it’s on a case/report basis 
• His relationship with the people is fairly well/good 
• For people that don’t follow the rules – usually there’s no specific type – but a few families that keep making the same mistake, it seems like more Shanghainese families that do that (other people from different provinces listen but not the Shanghainese LOL)
•  It’s all about the attitude/listening to critiques 
• How does he manage textile waste (clothing) and where does that go, what category is that in?/how is it recycled?
  • They count as recycling – people/companies buy textiles, depending on the type (it might be higher), price it by the fabric and the amount of fabric
• What are certain times, seasons, or holidays where the waste management business is booming?
  • Friday, Saturday, Sunday is bad, mainly collect from companies so holidays are actually bad, its a gradual thing, not an all at once thing

Art Installation II (Video) 

So our team once again went to the cafe and decided to create a digital installation via the form of a video that would then be displayed either in the lobby or in the cafe – (wherever a digital display was available & full of people). Our idea was to create a humorous video that would teach members of the NYU Shanghai community how to properly sort/manage waste.  Ideally, this video would impart some lessons and advice in a manner that is easier to digest for millennial/gen z populations.

The content of the video features an all-knowing citizen (Sofia Shockman) who would come into scenes as a “social justice warrior” and reminds people proper waste management practices in the most humorous of ways. The video was broken down into an intro, scene 1 (improper residual waste management), scene 2 (improper recycling management), and scene 3 (proper waste management), and a call to action. 

If there was no time constraint, the video would have been displayed in areas that generated tons of foot traffic or near waste receptacles. 

Video Link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1aCjze3GMP-ZZQAo8CVH07kSne-KHTiQt