Documentaries

Produced by The Story of Stuff | Regional Focus: Global

It's not that plastic waste in our world is mismanaged; it's that there is so much plastic being produced that it's unmanageable. Solutions start with reduction and prevention because by the time plastic enters the environment, it's already too late.

Produced by The Story of Stuff | Regional Focus: Global

Plastic pollutes at every step of the way but much of the consequences are hidden from view. We're pulling back the curtain to reveal the frontline communities being poisoned by plastic. This is The Story of Plastic.

Produced by The Story of Stuff | Regional Focus: Global

Plastic polluted neighborhoods in Manila are taking things into their own hands by creating systemic zero waste programs that collect all recyclables, compost all organics, and push for corporate accountability.

Produced by The Story of Stuff | Regional Focus: Global

The mass production of single-use plastic has put us in the biggest recycling crisis in history.

Directed by: Irja von Bernstorff

GIRLS FOR FUTURE follows four girls, aged between 11 and 14 years, from Senegal, Indonesia, Australia and India who fight for a better future. All are directly affected by the consequences of environmental destruction: Senegal stands for the global water crisis, Indonesia for plastic waste pollution, India for the agricultural crisis and in Australia we witness the fatal destruction in the oceans and on land through climate change.

Directed by: Debby Lee Cohen, Atsuko Ouirk

”Microplastic Madness” is the story of 56 fifth graders from P.S. 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn – living on the frontline of the climate crisis – whose actions on plastic pollution morph into extraordinary leadership and scalable victories.

With stop-motion animation, heartfelt kid commentary, and interviews of experts and renowned scientists who are engaged in the most cutting edge research on the harmful effects of microplastics, this alarming, yet charming narrative, conveys an urgent message in user-friendly terms.

Directed by: Miguel Hernandez and Miggy Hilario | Members Involved: BFFP Youth Ambassadors | Concept by: Nikhilesh Paliath, Maria Eduarda Bezerra, Dhrthi Bhat, and Tiara Orig Samson

In this short documentary, we look back with six youth leaders as they reflect on their life and the simultaneous degradation in our changing planet. We revisit their childhood, their influences, their environment, and their opinions on the progressing effects of plastic pollution. Juxtaposing these stories with the policies being discussed from before they were born up to now, we get a glimpse of the slow and looming consequences of inaction from our world leaders, and its effects on young people.

By Blenheim Films via Amazon Prime

Candida Brady’s multi award winning documentary with Oscar winner Jeremy Irons looked at the risks to the food chain and the environment through pollution of our air, land and sea by waste. Soundtrack composed and performed by another Oscar winner Vangelis.

via Netflix

Broken is a new investigative documentary series that identifies and deconstructs the systems that make consumer products vulnerable to fraud, corruption, and negligence - often at the expense of public health and safety. The series uncovers the truth behind the consumer price of the vaping industry, counterfeit cosmetics, plastics and fast furniture.

By TRT World

Malaysia's Plastic Jungle documentary investigates the consequences of illegal foreign plastic waste recycling on Malaysian people's health and environment. And meet the people who refuse to be the world's dumping ground.

by 60 minutes Australia | Reporter: Liam Bartlett | Producer: Grace Tobin

There is no doubt Australia is one of the most wasteful nations in the world, so the practice of recycling helps to lessen our guilt. As we drag our bins out for collection each week, we feel like we’re helping the environment. But the reality is that we’re all being conned. Right now, Australia is stuck in an unsightly and worsening recycling crisis. What is being done with plastic waste, the material most people think would be easy to salvage and re-use, is of the greatest concern. As Liam Bartlett discovers, most of it ends up either being buried or worse – exported to countries like Malaysia, a place we are now treating like a garbage bin.

By CBC News

Marketplace journalists go undercover overseas and pose as recycling brokers to expose the lucrative plastic recycling business. We reveal that Malaysian companies are willing to break the law to buy Canadian plastic and show how some of it is dumped and burned in illegal landfills, where the toxic fumes and run-off appear to be making people sick. Back in Canada, we buy nine tonnes of plastic and secretly track where big companies are taking it. Will it actually get recycled?