Justin Schneider
justin.schneider@heraldbulletin.com
A documentary film with a local tie is ready for its Anderson debut.
The Killbuck Concerned Citizens Association will sponsor a showing of “Trashed,” a 77-minute documentary film examining waste in America, on Saturday in the Paramount Theatre Centre Hardacre Ballroom downtown. The film includes a segment on the fight over Mallard Lake Landfill in Madison County.
“We want to take this thing countywide; it’s not just for the people in the Killbuck area,” said Bill Kutschera, KCCA president. “We have never used the Paramount before, but my understanding is that we have seating for around 400 people.”
Admission is free.
The film was financed, produced and directed by Bill Kirkos of Chicago-based OXI Productions LLC.
“‘Trashed’ is basically a documentary about waste, recycling and over-consumption in the U.S.,” Kirkos told The Herald Bulletin. “Ultimately, you have to look at the end result of the 4 1/2 pounds of trash that every American produces on a daily basis. What we used to call town dumps have changed because the amount of waste has increased, especially in the decades since the 1950s. We find waste crossing the country to find its final resting place.”
In 1978, JM Corp. announced plans to create a landfill in Madison County. The following year, the company purchased 154 acres in rural Richland Township, northeast of Anderson. But the project has been mired in controversy and legal battles for parts of four decades, due in part to its close proximity to Killbuck Elementary School.
The KCCA formed in opposition to the landfill project and, in May 2006, Kirkos enlisted the group, along with Killbuck Elementary students and parents, to re-create an early 1990s protest at the school. That footage, along with interviews with local officials and residents, became part of “Trashed.”
“Trashed” features about eight minutes of footage dedicated to the Mallard Lake situation, beginning at the 11:45 mark. Kirkos interviewed landfill opponents Kutschera, Helen Wean and Sheryl Myers; Indiana Department of Environmental Management Director Tom Easterly; and the man behind Mallard Lake, JM Corp. founder Ralph Reed.
Reed said he has viewed a DVD copy of the film and has no objections to it.
“Overall, I didn’t think it was too bad,” he said. “They mentioned that what we’re doing now is wrong, but they don’t really offer a solution to it. I don’t see anything wrong with the way I was portrayed.”
In the film, Reed admits to recycling but calls recycling an unprofitable business.
An estimated 600 people attended the film’s theatrical debut on July 26 at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, and the DVD has been available for purchase ever since.
Kutschera said the KCCA has already received permission from Anderson University to host a second showing of “Trashed,” probably some time in October. He hopes to create a multimedia presentation that could include a question-and-answer session with Kirkos.
“Bill is out of the country promoting this thing international,” Kutschera said. “Certainly, we have extended an invitation to him and would love to have him involved.”
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‘Trashed’ at the Paramount
What: “Trashed,” a 77-minute documentary about waste in America (includes a segment on Mallard Lake Landfill)
Where: Paramount Theatre Centre Hardacre Ballroom, 1124 Meridian St.
When: 7 p.m. Saturday (doors open at 6 p.m.)
Admission: Free (around 400 seats available)
Trailer: www.trashedmovie.com
