Top O' The World, Ma!

Thursday was a relaxed beginning to a marathon day. Klaus, from the Skagen Education Center met us early with his itinerary (here we go again).



The first stop was to the pier. A new demonstration device mulches up plastic fish barrels and nets into small fragments that can eventually be re-pelletized and made into…fish boxes!



It’s a start. And a new – giant-sized – machine will soon be in operation in Lithuania to deal with the Baltic Sea’s debris. Part of Save the North Seas Project, it unifies a collection of countries in reducing litter at sea.

Then it was off to meet Willy – a veteran submarine captain and current Harbour Master in Skagen’s port. Willy spoke better English than either of us and agreed to a rooftop interview – a place he called the Monkey’s Island.



We talked of the fishing industry and the no-service-tax law in Danish harbours – any trash accumulated onboard or caught is offloaded without charge…but it is included in the overall harbour fee…

Next was Cryptic Moth’s first interview for the press! That’s right, people had heard about us…done their homework…and, of course, were kindred spirits.



Back to work.

Long before nets meet the recycling machine, they are repaired again and again. We visited one operation where all the workers were eager to play up to the camera. These men have a tough job.



And the results are 10X less the price to a fishermen than replacing a net. Still, old rubber tires used to hold nets at the bottom, or steel-lined rope, are simply scrapped or dumped back into the ocean.

“Toss it on the leeside.”

12hrs from waking and only an egg in each engine, Cryptic Moth hiked 2km out to the northernmost part of c-Europe at 8pm.



Nuff said...



Except...

Heroic filming, gut-pulling patience, and smooth-talking access. This is filmmaking.



Tomorrow we leave Denmark and think hard of what that means. 10 days in a clean, responsible (corporate and citizen), progressive culture still mystifies…why a small Scandinavian country acts the model for energy, packaging and downright politeness?



Tusin Tak + keep breeding.

Out.

I+G

Secondhand Plastic Goodness

We had a light day Tuesday. The Danish Environment Minister cancelled a previous appointment but we still wrangled an interview with the Danish EPA. We arrived early to scout locations and after deciding upon a lovely backdrop of shallow canals and enormous government buildings our guest, Helge, informed us that - due to his allergies - the interview could not be held outside. Fair enough.



In less than 20 minutes, Gad set up a full light kit in a corner of the office as I stalled the guest - an impressive, sweaty, nerve-wracking feat. In the background sat a life-sized Lego parrot and a PVC globe - a gift to Helge from the plastic industry. We stayed off the political, focusing on recycling numbers, the rise in disposable containers and the active regulation of toxins in synthetics. It was a fine interview with much candor. Unfortunately we rushed with lights still hot to try and connect with Carlsberg.

But it was not to be.

Carlsberg called and postponed the shoot until the following day. In an effort to not miss out on the remainder of the day our efforts turned towards the administrative. Getting low on tape stock, we went on a crazy journey through Copenhagen looking for a store that had a reasonable amount of tape for a reasonable price. And we came across a store called.........



Then we found the tape store.

The day was capped off with a marathon drive looking for the FedEx office to send shot tapes back home. Deciphering the small suburban streets of Copenhagen was tough, but trying to decipher our scribbled directions was the real challenge. It was an early end to the evening as tomorrow would be the true test of our professional endurance.

Wednesday. 5am wake up. 3 hour drive to Fredericia - main bottling plant for Carlsberg and its brands in Europe. They also bottle Coke products.



We were most interested in filming the refillable plastic containers. These bottles are used up to 10-20 times before they are "recycled" into other secondary products. The bottles are sorted by size and colour, inspected for microscopic defects and foreign contaminants (think oil, urine, tobacco, garlic) with a robotic nose! Then they're washed, re-filled, labeled, packed and shipped. Quite an amazing operation to see, really.



So should we applaud Carlsberg's actions? Absolutely. They are a European leader in reclamation, recycling and sustainability. We are only saddened by the fact that "consumer trends" tend to dictate future progress. As we've mentioned before, "people" don't want scratched bottles and if a competitor's bottle is pristine, the clean one wins; hence a slow death to refillable PEN plastic and hello to disposable PET...(with a tax)...(in Denmark).

Hats off to Lars and Jens for giving us great access (we apologize for greatly extending your original itinerary).

But the day wasn't over yet.

Two hours north we connected with a supermarket chain that collects cans, glass and plastic bottles to become part of the Dansk Return System (See blog entry: Recycle This!).



Jon, the manager, was a great sport to play it up for the camera and we definitely turned some heads with improvised dolly shots.



And yet the day continued.



Three hours further north we reached our final destination...for the day. Skagen is a small village with a large port at the northernmost part of continental Europe. Tomorrow we film a new technology that recycles old fishing nets and plastic fish buckets. Sounds dull? It recently won top environmental honors from the UN.

Stay tuned.

Out.

G+I

"Hello, Honey! Do You Want a Kiss?"

Lego-Lady broke our hearts but Cryptic Moth still managed to film how Lego was made.



We drove to the plastic giant's headquarters in Billund the night before, which included a trip over this magnificent 16 kilometer bridge. We would later return to film fishermen beneath it and the setting sun.





Monday morning Trine, Jens and Rune brought us - very quickly - through the process...



...from ABS plastic pellets suctioned into the factory...



...to heat molding, casting, robotic forklifts and automated conveyer belts.



Lego also re-uses any scrap plastic, reject products and consumer waste from the adjacent amusement park, Legoland.



Over 90% of the scrap is recovered, ground up, re-pellitized with a small percentage of virgin plastic and eventually recast into gray Lego bricks.



This cradle to cradle approach really shows how Lego stands apart in corporate responsibility (even though it wasn't hard to spot some spillage).



They were quick to eliminate PVC in all their products and constantly test samples of their plastic. In fact, a thorough web search before visiting revealed nothing but glowing praise from eco-orgs. And, we must say, it was the cleanest factory we've ever seen while the workers couldn't have been more pleasant starting up machines at random - just for us.



Our friendly hosts then let us roam freely in Legoland. It didn't take long for the inner child in us to emerge.





The displays were impressive and interactive but the novelty soon wore off. It was a long day and at this later age, sometimes a plastic brick is just a plastic brick.



Tomorrow we interview the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. Then it's off to the Carlsberg brewery. (Insert jokes here)



Out.

I+G