"A NEW LOOK AT AN OLD PROBLEM" 1970s UNION CARBIDE PLASTIC BAGS & GARBAGE MANAGEMENT FILM 67404

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This color educational film is about the problem of trash in the USA -- which was known at the time as the "Garbage Explosion". It was produced by Union Carbide in the early 1970s, and focuses on the use of garbage bags (produced by Union Carbide) as a means of collection. It also looks at sanitary landfills while urging viewers to help decrease their consumption of goods and try to protect the environment. There is no copyright date but it may date from around 1973, when a fuel crisis (referenced in the film) raised the price of plastic products including plastic bags.
Opening titles (:06-:09). Garbage dump, birds flying over a dump. Trucks drop off more garbage. Bulldozers push garbage. Kansas City, MO, they are using the bag system for trash - a girl ties her plastic trash bag and puts it out on the curb along with newspapers that are bound together for pickup. A garbage truck comes by and the workers collect the trash and toss it into the back of the garbage truck. Al Beck, Public Works Dept, talks about making the trash problem easier. He looks at bags of trash and makes sure they're secured. Bags are placed into a garbage truck. Garland, TX, the bag system is in use there as well. A train of dumpsters together are in use as a worker tosses bags into them on a street. Bags are tossed high up and crash down into the dumpster. A larger truck comes and grabs the smaller dumpsters to dump them into itself. One machine, like a crane, picks up bags of trash and disposes them onto a conveyor belt which then shuttle them to the back of the truck. A truck smashes trash down in a landfill (:10-3:22). Mr. Beck of Kansas City talks about what makes a good landfill. A landfill having trash compacted by vehicles. Aerial shot of a landfill in Kansas City, MO and trucks on it. Madison, WI landfill, a worker from the Dept of Public Works speaks about their landfill. Buttons pressed, trash is sprayed with water, a conveyor belt with trash. Aerial shot of a landfill once cleared. A baseball game on a field. A man places newspapers into a garbage truck. Piles and piles of newspapers. Paper is compacted by a worker in a machine. Piles of compacted newspapers (3:23-6:21). Piles and piles of rubber tires in a landfill. Aerial shot of a landfill. A truck transports used tires. Dr. Norman Braton, from the University of Wisconsin, talks about what to do with the tires. Rubber is broken down. Cryogenic recycling. Trash is dumped. Trash is placed into an incinerator and burns. A truck carries away the trash after this process. Dr. John Anderson of the Union Carbide Research Center speaks. A furnace burns trash and breaks it down. Close on flame. People look over a machine (6:22-9:18). A man sits near a fountain and speaks on local trash responsibilities. The train of dumpsters, a man throws trash into them. The crane machine. Trash being bulldozed. Buttons pressed, trash is sprayed with water, a conveyor belt with trash. The incinerator flame (9:19-10:26). End credits (10:27-11:02).
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com

[@jeffpiatt3879]

"The Mother Truck." Would that make the driver a "Mother Trucker?"

[@dentalnovember]

Cant wait to see the Union Carbide film “Bhopal” from 1984. “Healing the earth with chemical pesticides.”

[@asm2750]

Crazy how many garbage collection systems existed back then. Now it’s all wheeled containers for homes and dumpsters for larger communities and commercial buildings.

[@tookitogo]

No, it isn’t uniform like you claim. The methods vary by location.

[@Dumb_Furry_UwU]

​​@@tookitogo stop being so angry and ignorant 😤 haircut says it all. Stop living in 2002

[@jamessmyth5949]

It's incredible how much waste went to landfill back then. It's nice to see that some recycling was taking place with paper and tires. The biggest environmental problem was yet to come though, with the introduction of plastic bottles and packaging that replaced easy to recycle glass bottles.

[@withershin]

The bag system will save the country. Oh here's another great idea Ed, let's put buildings on top of the landfills. Maybe a soccer pitch or a baseball diamond too. Should be fine. Can't imagine there being any issues in the future. We should call the paper-recovery something more catchy... Like how about we call it "recycling" but we'll use liquid nitrogen on the newspapers and a big hammer. I love these videos. Thanks for all of your hard work Periscope Film.

[@user-1281]

Liquid nitrogen and the "big hammer" was used on tires, not newspapers.

[@withershin]

@@user-1281 the bag system will save you one day

[@albear972]

*Greenwashing* from petrochemical companies has been around for a long time.

[@Gannett2011]

In the UK back then it was the traditional rubbish bin/trash can and the truck would roll down the street and a squad of men would shoulder the bins and empty them into the back of the truck. Now I live in California, and my city just rolls up to the wheelie bin and lifts it up to dump it into the truck, 2 guys in the cab, never have to get out. These systems described in the film are like hearing about people in old London tossing the contents of their chamber pots into the street, archaic and disgusting.

[@canadagood]

I live in a small Canadian town. Until last year our garbage was collected weekly by a traditional back-loading garbage truck with one or two men dumping garbage cans into the back. When things went well they went very well; but when it snowed or got icy or somebody booked off sick then things deteriorated quickly. Injuries were common and it was hard to retain workers. Finally last year we changed to a contractor with wheelie bins and side-loading trucks. Since the bins are much larger, collection is only every second week. Because of the lower labor costs the town is saving money. And there are no injuries. Collecting and throwing all those bags must have been back-breaking, smelly and dangerous work.

[@65gtotrips]

@3:33 is pretty funny…’not upsetting the environment of a neighborhood’ - This is obviously before tire shredding machines were developed.

[@lastotallyawesomebleach204]

The history of trash day

[@PACstove]

Leaving bags out seems like it would draw rats and so many other animals. The big bag grabbing claw made me cringe thinking of the possible accidents with children or pets that might be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[@ptappola]

Luckily children weren't that helpless during that time.

[@PACstove]

@@ptappola Any child or animal caught in that thing is pretty helpless. Hydraulics don't give a shit.

[@georgewuzheer]

Spotless, squeaky clean Japan switched to plastic bags in the 70s or 80s and it works beautifully for them. Any system no matter how technologically advanced will be defeated by lazy litterbugs. The problem is cultural. When looking to clean up your neighborhood/city/country you'd be best served talking to a sociologist, not an engineer.

[@keithmoore5306]

hell most cities are letting the garbage roam the streets wrecking everything in sight!!! they need to figure out how to deal with that!!

[@gregorypeck1606]

Bags out in the open ridiculous 😅

[@davidpatriot1082]

i miss this America. go ahead, call me racist. Things were better.