Just recently Green Media Solutions stopped by Film Biz Recycling and spoke with FBR founder and executive director, Eva Radke – who they appropriately dubbed, The Queen of Reuse. Check out their nice write up and find out why.
Eva Radke: Queen of Reuse
By Kasey Lum | October 31, 2011
Green Media Solutions talks with Film Biz Recycling founder Eva Radke about her multi-pronged approach to greening the film biz, and beyond…
What do YOU do with set materials, props and supplies once a production has wrapped?
Eva Radke, a former art department coordinator, often agonized over what she could do to help prevent barely-used production items from being dumped into landfills. After seeing too many great props and materials going to waste, Radke decided she had to do something to remedy the film industry’s consumptive habits. “The burden of throwing everything away was really starting to weigh heavily on me and I thought, ‘I’m not doing anything positive, and I don’t understand why it has to be this way.’ I just had to stop doing it.”
In 2008, Radke created Film Biz Recycling (FBR), a nonprofit organization she describes as a “creative reuse center.” At its Gowanus warehouse in Brooklyn, NY, donations from film, TV, theater, commercial and other media productions are collected and sorted. 40% of those items become inventory for sale or rent at the prop shop—everything else goes to charity.
“Our number one mission is to give it away,” says Radke. “We’re not just taking free stuff and selling it. People need to know that this is a social mission as well as a way of keeping things out of dumpsters.”
The organization currently partners with eight charities that collect donated materials. FBR sorts materials onsite, and distributes the bounty based on “what’s best and who’s going to find the most value out of them,” explains Radke. Since 2008, the nonprofit has collected and repurposed more than 200 tons of donated production items.
At the 11,000 square foot warehouse, film production teams, DIY-ers, and thrifty individuals can find anything from books and clothing to electronics and signs, and even a faux electric chair—all for a fraction of the original price and with the added cool-factor that comes with the item’s past life. “Everything here was picked out by decorators and designers in the film industry,” says Radke. “This isn’t curated by us. These are items that have been used on sets beforehand and can take on a new life somewhere else.”
There is never really a limit to what FBR is willing to take in, Radke emphasizes. “We basically take everything except particleboard, and legally we can’t take dirty mattresses. We take dirty or stained clothing because we have a textile recycling section.” The shop maintains a “tiny clothing boutique,” says Radke, but 90 percent of wearable clothing goes to men’s and women’s shelters. “We even take half-cans of paint because we can mix it with another half and make it a full color.”
Creativity in repurposing materials seems to be the key to the organization’s success. “As we’ve developed, we’re reusing these materials to teach people things. We’re organizing workshops right now, and that depends on our materials. If we get in great amounts of yarn, guess what? That means community knitting workshops!” says Radke.
But there’s more to be learned from Film Biz Recycling than knitting. Via Made in NY, a program sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, FBR hosts workshops and informative volunteerism that coach those entering the workforce on sustainable practices. “That’s an amazing step the city is taking,” says Radke. “They’re saying that anyone who wants to enter the industry has to have an ability to understand sustainability.”
Film Biz Recycling even runs an art gallery and exhibition space, “RE-Gallery,” featuring work from local artists that work with “found objects” otherwise destined for landfills. “We are allowing an arts community to prosper, to show their work, have a creative outlet and to make money. If you’ve created something and found a way of repurposing something, our gallery is yours at no charge.”
And if you need a place to create it, FBR has you covered there too. The warehouse boasts a communal workspace equipped with office supplies, a long table and open space to work in. For no charge, production teams can have meetings, artists can work and individuals can plan their next production.
“Anyone in this industry who wants to see what we do can come here and I can show them our process,” says Radke. “The change we’re asking for is simpler and more beneficial for every single individual.”
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