It’s been 15 years since the Producers Guild introduced its Green Production Guide, but convincing film and TV productions to think about the lifecycle of sets and props is still being developed.
“A lot of these pieces don’t have a plan,” says Reece Medefesser, reuse coordinator at Ecoset in Northeast L.A.’s Glassell Park neighborhood. “They have to leave the stage. So what’s the easiest thing to do? Just throw them in the trash,” he says, and everything goes in the landfill.
The PGA’s sustainability guidelines encourage producers to “prepare sustainable wraps at the end of production” and warn that “landfill should be the last option.” But it’s still difficult to convince productions why they should spend money to eliminate waste.
That’s where EcoSet comes in. The Glassell Park warehouse isn’t the only place in Los Angeles where sets and props are recycled, but since 2009 it has been a vital resource for film, television, music videos, commercial productions and live events looking to keep waste out of landfills. Even better, EcoSet’s Material Oasis provides a wide range of supplies free of charge to nonprofit organizations such as schools and other organizations that have access to cast-off sets, furniture, art supplies, and various props.
EcoSet’s mission is to get production companies to consider what happens to their materials when a show ends, as anything that needs to be disposed of has an environmental and economic cost.
“We’re an alternative trash can. Just like you have to pay a dumpster to throw things away, that’s what we’re all about. We’re an alternative stream of what production companies are trying to dispose of,” Medefessor says.
On the day Variety visited, the woman was pushing a shopping cart filled with various decorative materials. She designs haunted houses and photo booth backdrops at horror conventions, she says. Since she is not affiliated with a nonprofit organization, customers like her pay $30 to get whatever they can buy within an hour of shopping time.
Once the materials arrive at the warehouse, “we do an assessment to see which items have the most reuse value. We want to make it available to nonprofits, schools, and the public sector first,” explains Medefesser.
As you tour the warehouse, you’ll find some fun items, including a giant inflatable pizza, a giant arrow sign, and part of a prison bar, but the bulk of the inventory isn’t all that eye-catching, with lots of wooden apartments, walls, doors, windows, and other construction materials. But all of these can help set builders, event designers, and artists save money and reduce waste.
“When you look at this junk, it’s like looking at a wall or something that costs thousands of dollars,” Medifesser explains.
He says pickup is the most cost-effective way to drop off used items, but pickup is also available. And just as there is a fee to drop off waste at a dumpster, there is also a fee to deposit materials at EcoSet. Prices start at $350 for a single vanload and go up to $2,200 or more for the equivalent of a large landscape trailer.
EcoSet was founded in 2009 by Shannon Burt, who worked in commercial production with Chris Verberg, who is now Executive Director. He wanted to find a more sustainable way for an industry that is chronically wasteful. The company also consults on zero-waste practices for recyclable craft service items and other sets, and helps Every Day Action repurpose leftover craft service meals to distribute food to organizations in need.
The warehouse is also home to Expendables Upcycler, which collects everything from unused control tape to camera equipment and batteries. Production staff can buy and sell used or new supplies to reduce both costs and set waste.
Fluctuations in production impact the amount of product coming in, but more customers than ever want to shop at Materials Oasis. Much of that is due to some recent TikToks promoting warehouses as treasure chests for dedicated savers. But Medifessor cautions that you never know what you’ll find or what its value will be, and nonprofits will be prioritized.
“Attitudes are changing now and many young people are becoming more in tune,” Medefesser said. But ultimately, we want everyone to think about how they dispose of the things they use and whether they can be reused, stored, or recycled.
“There’s more communication, there’s more collaboration, there’s more logistics, we’re able to help more,” Medefessor told the production. “Our motto here, and it’s stated on our website, is ‘If you plan, you’ll never waste.'”
