How EcoSet Keeps Production Materials Out of the Landfill, While Letting Non-Profits Shop Its Warehouse for Free
It’s been 15 years since the Producers Guild introduced its Green Production Guide, and yet convincing film and television productions to think about the life cycle of their sets and props remains a work in progress.
“A lot of these productions don’t have a plan in place,” says Reese Medefesser, the reuse coordinator at EcoSet in Northeast L.A.’s Glassell Park neighborhood. “They need to be off the stages. So what’s the easiest thing to do? They just get the dumpster,” he says, and everything goes into the landfill.
The PGA’s sustainability guidelines encourage producers to “build in time at the end of production for a sustainable wrap” and warn “the landfill should be the last option.” But it’s still a battle to convince productions why money should be spent to eliminate waste.
That’s where EcoSet comes in. The Glassell Park warehouse isn’t the only place where sets and props get recycled in Los Angeles, but since 2009, it’s been a key resource for film, TV, music videos, commercial productions and live events that want to divert waste away from landfills. Even better, EcoSet’s Materials Oasis provides a wide array of supplies free of charge to non-profits like schools and other organizations that can make use of cast-off sets, furniture, art supplies and assorted props.
EcoSet’s mission is to get productions to consider what will happen to their materials when the show is wrapped – since everything that needs to be disposed of comes with an environmental and financial cost.
“We’re an alternative dumpster. Just like you have to pay the dump to throw things away, that’s all that we are — an alternative stream for the stuff productions are trying to get rid of,” says Medefesser.
On the day Variety visits, a woman is pushing a shopping cart filled with assorted decor materials. She designs haunted houses, she says, and backdrops for photo booths at horror conventions. Since she’s not part of a non-profit, customers like her pay $30 to grab whatever they can within an hour of shopping time.
When materials arrive at the warehouse, “We’ll go through an assessment to find out which items have the most reuse value. We want to make sure that the nonprofits, the schools, the public sector get first dibs on it,” Medefesser explains.
While a tour of the warehouse uncovers a few fun items like a giant inflatable pizza slice, a huge arrow sign and a section of jail bars, the bulk of the inventory is less eye-catching – lots of wood flats, walls, doors, windows and other construction materials. But it could all potentially help set builders, event designers and artists save money and reduce waste.
“When you look at this junk, you’re looking at thousands upon thousands of dollars of walls and stuff,” Medefesser explains.
Drop-offs are the most cost-effective way to unload used items, he says, though pickups are also available. And just like there would be a fee to drop waste off at the dump, there’s a fee to leave materials at EcoSet – starting at $350 for a vanload, up to $2200 or more for a large scenic trailer’s-worth.
EcoSet was founded in 2009 by Shannon Bart, who was working on commercial production with now-executive director Kris Barberg, and wanted to find a more sustainable way forward for the chronically-wasteful industry. The company also consults on zero-waste practices for sets such as recyclable craft services items, and helps divert leftover craft services meals to Every Day Action, which distributes food to organizations in need.
Also headquartered at the warehouse is Expendables Upcycler, which recovers everything from unused gaffer’s tape to camera equipment and batteries. Production crews can both buy and sell gently used or new expendables to cut down on both cost and trash on their sets.
Though fluctuations in production affect the amount of items coming in, there are more customers looking to shop at the Materials Oasis than ever. Much of this is due to a few recent TikToks that promoted the warehouse as a treasure chest for devoted thrifters. But Medefesser warns that you’ll never know what you will find or what the value of it might be — and non-profits will get priority.
“You are seeing a changing attitude now, a lot of the younger people are getting more in tune,” Medefesser says. But ultimately, he just wants everyone to think about how they’re going to dispose of everything they’re using, and whether it can be reused, stored or recycled.
“The more communication, the more coordination, the more logistics that we’re able to work out, the more that I can help you guys out,” Medefesser tells productions. “Our whole motto here — it says it on our website — is ‘with a game plan in place, it’s not waste.’”
“A lot of these productions don’t have a plan in place,” says Reese Medefesser, the reuse coordinator at EcoSet in Northeast L.A.’s Glassell Park neighborhood. “They need to be off the stages. So what’s the easiest thing to do? They just get the dumpster,” he says, and everything goes into the landfill.
The PGA’s sustainability guidelines encourage producers to “build in time at the end of production for a sustainable wrap” and warn “the landfill should be the last option.” But it’s still a battle to convince productions why money should be spent to eliminate waste.
That’s where EcoSet comes in. The Glassell Park warehouse isn’t the only place where sets and props get recycled in Los Angeles, but since 2009, it’s been a key resource for film, TV, music videos, commercial productions and live events that want to divert waste away from landfills. Even better, EcoSet’s Materials Oasis provides a wide array of supplies free of charge to non-profits like schools and other organizations that can make use of cast-off sets, furniture, art supplies and assorted props.
EcoSet’s mission is to get productions to consider what will happen to their materials when the show is wrapped – since everything that needs to be disposed of comes with an environmental and financial cost.
“We’re an alternative dumpster. Just like you have to pay the dump to throw things away, that’s all that we are — an alternative stream for the stuff productions are trying to get rid of,” says Medefesser.
On the day Variety visits, a woman is pushing a shopping cart filled with assorted decor materials. She designs haunted houses, she says, and backdrops for photo booths at horror conventions. Since she’s not part of a non-profit, customers like her pay $30 to grab whatever they can within an hour of shopping time.
When materials arrive at the warehouse, “We’ll go through an assessment to find out which items have the most reuse value. We want to make sure that the nonprofits, the schools, the public sector get first dibs on it,” Medefesser explains.
While a tour of the warehouse uncovers a few fun items like a giant inflatable pizza slice, a huge arrow sign and a section of jail bars, the bulk of the inventory is less eye-catching – lots of wood flats, walls, doors, windows and other construction materials. But it could all potentially help set builders, event designers and artists save money and reduce waste.
“When you look at this junk, you’re looking at thousands upon thousands of dollars of walls and stuff,” Medefesser explains.
Drop-offs are the most cost-effective way to unload used items, he says, though pickups are also available. And just like there would be a fee to drop waste off at the dump, there’s a fee to leave materials at EcoSet – starting at $350 for a vanload, up to $2200 or more for a large scenic trailer’s-worth.
EcoSet was founded in 2009 by Shannon Bart, who was working on commercial production with now-executive director Kris Barberg, and wanted to find a more sustainable way forward for the chronically-wasteful industry. The company also consults on zero-waste practices for sets such as recyclable craft services items, and helps divert leftover craft services meals to Every Day Action, which distributes food to organizations in need.
Also headquartered at the warehouse is Expendables Upcycler, which recovers everything from unused gaffer’s tape to camera equipment and batteries. Production crews can both buy and sell gently used or new expendables to cut down on both cost and trash on their sets.
Though fluctuations in production affect the amount of items coming in, there are more customers looking to shop at the Materials Oasis than ever. Much of this is due to a few recent TikToks that promoted the warehouse as a treasure chest for devoted thrifters. But Medefesser warns that you’ll never know what you will find or what the value of it might be — and non-profits will get priority.
“You are seeing a changing attitude now, a lot of the younger people are getting more in tune,” Medefesser says. But ultimately, he just wants everyone to think about how they’re going to dispose of everything they’re using, and whether it can be reused, stored or recycled.
“The more communication, the more coordination, the more logistics that we’re able to work out, the more that I can help you guys out,” Medefesser tells productions. “Our whole motto here — it says it on our website — is ‘with a game plan in place, it’s not waste.’”