Plastic China

In March 2011, I carried out detailed research into European and American waste disposal in China. During that time, I was skeptical about prosperity in China under its large-scale, long-term economic development and “pollution for development” models as “prosperity” was accompanied by an enormous environmental crisis and new social contradictions. So I went to a small city in northern China where for more than 30 years almost all the inhabitants are employed in a waste plastic recycling plant. Though the local economy appeared to be expanding thanks to the plant, the local environment was badly polluted. There was no longer any clean water or breathable air or healthy food, and any of the inhabitants were suffering from deadly diseases.

My head filled with doubts, I wanted to find out more about the people who lived there. I wanted to see their lifestyle and hear what they thought about it. I expected to find answers to my questions while I was filming the documentary, observing how ordinary people lived to understand society in general. I hope the public will grasp the “presence of plastic,” so widespread in our country and I hope also that it will see how this is a joint effect of the global consumer system. As the world’s largest producer and exporter of cheap commodities, China is hungry for raw materials and sets relatively low standards for environmental protection. If we take into account the environmental costs of recycling, they would be the same in China as in Japan or the United States, and refuse would not be imported into China. I don’t believe this is the result of globalized fair trade in goods and materials. This is why the film is entitled Plastic China. On the surface the impression is one of prosperity, but it hides a very serious problem. You can have as many face-lifts as you like to have a fantastic appearance, but what do you really look like beneath the sparkling patina.