Trash to Treasure: Even Garbage Deserves a Second Chance

Landfill Harmonic is an upcoming feature-length documentary about a remarkable musical orchestra in Cateura, Paraguay, where young musicians play instruments made from trash.

Hailing from a slum built on top of a landfill—and where a violin is worth more than a house—these young musicians are proof positive that investing in people as much as recycling can foster love and creativity.

Photo: Vimeo

Peaceful, majestic Mount Everest. At 29,035-feet tall, this "goddess of the sky" was first ascended on May 29, 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary. Since then, roughly 3,400 more hikers have summited the mountain. Besides attaining bragging rights for their climb, many leave their bad manners behind in the form of trash. In this video, Mt Everest 8848 Art Project, we get to see their trash turned into artistic treasure. The Telegraph reports that a group of artists have collected eight tons of trash from the mountain—including the remains of a helicopter—and turned it “into works of art and sculptures to highlight the issue of littering on the slopes of Everest.” They also report it took 65 porters and 75 yaks to carry down the rubbish from the mountain over two spring expeditions. Talk about dedication.

Photo: Vimeo

You’re a nine year-old kid, you’re an entrepreneur, and one day a filmmaker comes across your arcade made entirely of discarded boxes from your dad’s auto parts shop.

That’s where the magic comes in.

Caine’s elaborate cardboard arcade set inside his dad's shop—and a community that came together to make one day in his life a dream come true—is enough to make you cry. Caine's Arcade has inspired millions, and launched a movement to foster creativity and entrepreneurship in kids, via the Imagination Foundation.

Grab some tissues.

Photo: Vimeo

Barefoot Wine and the Surfrider Foundation have been working together for years to keep beaches “barefoot friendly.” Inspired by the creatives that have worked to transform trash to treasure and keep ocean education alive, this 24-minute film is a tribute to people, place and planet—all woven into a love story.

With a big focus on plastic and its positive and negative impacts on the ocean as well as everyday life, One Beach forces us to take ownership over all our single uses, need for convenience and a perceived “need” that oftentimes outweighs common logic.

Photo: YouTube