Spotlight on Waste: Film Screening and Policy Brief launch

UCL Centre for Law and Environment hosted a screening ‘Reclaiming Now’: a documentary about waste pickers and sustainable development on Wednesday 8 March 2023.
Reclaiming Now is a documentary film about waste pickers in South Africa and their struggle to enjoy the social and economic dimensions of sustainable development as promised in the South African Constitution. The documentary is the brainchild of Dr Allison Lindner, an interdisciplinary legal scholar at UCL Faculty of Laws who wished to translate her PhD thesis findings into a widely accessible medium and was directed by Premilla Murcott and Tricia Hlongwa. Dr Lindner’s thesis focused on how international legal ideas such as sustainable development shape the lives of the most vulnerable among us, in this case, waste pickers in South Africa. It found that the lived reality of sustainable development does not accord with its aspiration.. Waste pickers work hard to collect and sell recyclable materials for a living, while saving South African municipalities millions of rand per year in landfill space. Yet, they continue to live in poverty with little opportunity to move into any formal sector. The film consists of stunning visuals of waste management activity in Johannesburg, and interviews of waste management stakeholders including waste pickers. The film will appeal to policymakers, waste pickers and their allies, activists, academics and others interested in the environment, the informal economy, waste and sustainable development.
Speaker
Dr Allison Lindner is Lecturer in Law at UCL Faculty of Laws. Allison uses economic and sociolegal approaches to research waste, sustainable development and the informal economy. She runs the Waste Law Reading Group for early career researchers. A legal researcher before becoming an academic, this Allison’s first film.
Chair
Dr Birsha Ohdedar is Lecturer in Climate Change and Environmental Law at SOAS University of London. Birsha’s work focuses on environmental and climate justice, human rights, climate litigation and water law, with a regional focus on South Asia. Prior to entering academia, Birsha practised environmental law at law firms and NGOs.
Film Directors
Premilla Murcott has over ten years of experience editing documentaries and television shows. She was one of the editors working on Time of Pandemics, a film that was broadcast on Al Jazeera and the South African Broadcasting Corporation in 2022. In 2019, Premilla worked as an editor on the award-winning film, How To Steal A Country and in 2021, Premilla won an award at the Canadian Labour International Film Festival, for her documentary entitled ‘Street Traders on the Move’. It can be viewed at: vimeo.com/5064....
Tricia Hlongwa has over a decade's experience in documentary, film and talk television including shows for the South African Broadcasting Corporation, BBC and Al Jazeera. She is a social impact content producer and director, focusing on issues of human rights, land rights, participatory democracy and the environment. Tricia has worked alongside international journalists such as Redi Tlhabi, Zeinab Badawi and Emmy award winning documentary director Rehad Desai. Her work is anchored in the theme of rights and responsibilities.