BBC America’s running a four-part “eco-reality” series this month called Dumped, in which a bunch of would-be eco-adventurers get duped into a stinky three-week stint of dumpster diving. The idea, as Salon reports, is to simultaneously amuse and appall us, a kind of shock and ha! approach:

Our eco-lesson disguised as entertainment begins with 11 contestants, including an Iraq war vet and a platinum jewelry salesman, ensconced in a luxury hotel near London’s Gatwick airport, dining on fresh strawberries, melon and oranges at a linen-covered table, anticipating their upcoming three-week eco-adventure at an as yet unknown destination. On the environmental spectrum, the participants range from Selena, a personal trainer, who describes herself as an “eco-pain in the ass” to Darren, a woodworker, who owns four cars and wears his underwear only once before throwing it away because he “loves the crispness” of new tighty-whiteys. Then there’s Sasha, a streaky-blond part-time model, who says she knows all about global warming. “I’ve noticed it’s getting warmer, but I like that, because I like sun anyway,” she says, dissolving into giggles.

Once the contestants discover their true destination–a dump in South London–anticipation turns to disgust as they realize that they’ve been drafted to star in a version of “Survivor” in which the island consists of a stinking, rotting mound of trash.

Our trashy campers are armed with only the bare necessities: sleeping bags, water bottles, one roll of toilet paper each, hot water, gloves, face masks and plenty of fresh food. Their first challenge is to fabricate some kind of shelter with materials scavenged from the dump. Once they’ve got a rubbishy roof over their heads, it’s on to more freegan-style fun and games. Whoever toughs it out gets to split the “reward” money, roughly $40,000. But is there a payoff for viewers? Salon wonders:

Will staring into a giant pile of trash through the lens of reality TV inspire any viewers to change their profligate consumer ways? Maybe. Just as watching video of horribly abused cows going to slaughter renders some squeamish viewers vegetarians, surely there is someone out there who will be grossed out enough by the staggering mountains of trash in “Dumped” to commit to using the recycling bin more often, or taking those old clothes to Goodwill instead of tossing them out.

But as the contestants on “Dumped” reveal, even being forced to camp in rotting garbage in the name of eco-education won’t reach everyone. A few contestants seem genuinely galvanized by their gritty sojourn into the nasty world of waste management. But the quitter who gives up before the end of the first episode has big plans for life post-dump: a two-week vacation to Vegas “burning more fossil fuels.”

Watch “Dumped” on BBC America on Sundays at 10pm, and click here for a list of the Top 10 ways to reduce your own “garbage”  footprint, courtesy of Elizabeth Royte, author of Garbage Land.