Apr 28 â€" Movie Studios Are Cleaning Up Their Actsâ€"Literally

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) put out a press release announcing that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the MPAA’s Solid Waste Task Force did their part to prevent air pollution, conserve natural resources and reduce water pollution by collectively diverting over 64% of studio sets and other kinds of waste from going to landfills.

The Solid Waste Task Force includes: Fox Studios, The Walt Disney Company, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., and the West Coast broadcast and production centers of ABC and CBS.

The studios’ program includes innovative waste minimization efforts such as the use of metal scaffolding instead of wood platforms, double-sided scripts, installation of sleep mode on computers to reduce energy consumption along with many other energy efficiency retrofits, grass-cycling and landscape composting.  Moreover, construction and demolition recycling programs are prevalent throughout the industry, along with a more recent adoption of green-building guidelines by some of the studios. In 2005 alone, nearly 24,000 tons of solid waste was diverted from landfills toward reuse and recycling.

Under AB 939, individual studios are not obligated to meet the 50% diversion rate. However, due to their enormity, studios have the ability to generate a lot of waste which does affect the city in which they are located. Thankfully, the participating major movie studios in the Solid Waste Task Force are collaborating efforts to be more environmentally conscientious and eco-responsible and they are making a difference in the way set productions affect California’s waste stream.

For more information, contact
Kori Bernards
MPAA Los Angeles
(818) 995-6600