Received an interesting email last night from a TD I know:

“I just saw this on TV…Not sure how applicable it would be to theatre but would love to find out.”

He was talking about Grindzilla, a portable bulk materials mulcher, basically, that was invented to help the construction business reuse its waste materials. The garbage truck sized grinding and sorting machine pulls up to the job site, unfurls a conveyor belt and proceeds to accept wood and sheetrock (and other related materials) into its woodchipper-like mouth. It sorts out metal from wood (even pieces of wood with nails through them were put in!), and turns the material into woodchips basically, that can be used in the landscaping of the site, or for other purposes.

Naturally, this isn’t the ultimate solution for the creation of waste, but it’s a pretty interesting compromise. Would it work for theater waste? Could a group of theaters somewhere develop a mulch selling business on the side by putting their strike garbage in the Grindzilla? Hmmmm….

Check it out here and here.