The Secret Life of Landfill
BBC FOUR (2018)
In a unique science experiment, Dr George McGavin and Dr Zoe Laughlin chronicle the history of rubbish and explore how what we throw away tells us about the way we live our lives. With unprecedented access to one of the UK's largest landfill sites, they spend three days carrying out tests all over the site, revealing the secret world of rubbish. They also carry out three other digs on landfill sites sealed in the 1890s, 1950s and the 1980s in an attempt to chart the evolution of our throwaway society.
Throughout the programme Zoe performs a series of hands-on demonstrations including the distillation of plastic bottles in a home-made still. Zoe also conducts an autopsy on a smart phone in order to reveal the precious materials hidden within. This clip can be viewed on the BBC website here.
This 90 minute documentary was first broadcast on the 23rd August 2018, 9pm, BBC4.
