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Crapshoot: The Gamble with Our Wastes

2003 52 min
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A hazardous mix of waste is flushed into the sewer every day. The billions of litres of water - combined with unknown quantities of chemicals, solvents, heavy metals, human waste and food - where does it all go? And what does it do to us? Filmed in Italy, India, Sweden, the United States and Canada, this bold documentary questions our fundamental attitudes to waste. Does our need to dispose of waste take precedence over public safety? What are the alternatives?

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Crapshoot: The Gamble with Our Wastes

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A hazardous mix of waste is flushed into the sewer every day. The billions of litres of water - combined with unknown quantities of chemicals, solvents, heavy metals, human waste and food - where does it all go? And what does it do to us? Filmed in Italy, India, Sweden, the United States and Canada, this bold documentary questions our fundamental attitudes to waste. Does our need to dispose of waste take precedence over public safety? What are the alternatives?

Industry and Commerce Environment and Conservation Social Issues All subjects
The Green Channel All channels
  • director
    Jeff McKay
  • editor
    Jeff McKay
  • narration writer
    Ruth DeGraves
  • producer
    Joe MacDonald
  • executive producer
    Graydon McCrea
  • narrator
    Ruth DeGraves
  • camera
    Linda Danchak
  • location sound
    Jerry Turchyn
  • additional camera
    Jonathan Bland
    Jeff McKay
  • original music
    Peter Bundy
    Jeff McKay
  • music performer
    Peter Bundy
    Gunnar Lindgren
  • production manager
    Jeff McKay
    Elisabetta Povoledo
  • research
    Jeff McKay
    Ruth DeGraves
    Joe MacDonald
    Maureen Reilly
  • story consultant
    Amanda McConnell
  • translation
    Adriana Lombardini
  • sound editor
    Saul Henteleff
  • online editing
    Tony Wytinck
  • final mix
    John Schritt
  • production supervisor
    Scott Collins
  • production assistant
    Melanie Coad
    Monique Perron
  • production clerk
    Rolande Petit
  • program administrator
    Cyndi Forcand

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Education

Ages 15 to 17
School subjects
Geography - Environmental Issues History and Citizenship Education - Neolithic Civilization to the Renaissance Science - Environmental Science Social Studies - Environmental Challenges
In today’s society, does our need to dispose of waste take precedence over public safety? What are the alternatives? Do our current sewers compound our waste problems? Do we, as citizens, need to rethink our waste problem? What are some things that we can do, as citizens, to enact change? Comment on the film’s title.
Crapshoot: The Gamble with Our Wastes
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