Waste = Food

An amazing and inspiring story that will change your way of thinking about production and consumption. Everybody knows the story of the limited earth: natural resources are being depleted on a rapid scale while production and consumption are rising rapidly in nations like China and India. Waste production is enormous and if we do not do anything we will soon have turned all our resources into one big messy landfill. An American designer, William McDonough, and a German chemist, Michael Braungart, think they have found a way out. Their aim is to re-design every product according to the principle that nature uses to grow: Waste = Food. Use waste products as valuable nutrients for the biosphere or the techno-sphere. Re-cycling is old fashioned; up-cycling is the new paradigm. High production, high consumption, economic growth and a clean environment go hand in hand according to this new paradigm. This Cradle-to-Cradle design concept is an idea that is not only embraced by some of the world largest companies but also by the fastest developing economy: China. Are we on the verge of the next industrial revolution? Directed by Rob van Hattum and produced by VPRO/Tegenlicht.