Page 8 from: Recycling International November/December issue | 2022

8

‘We are more
than just recycling’
John Sacco of California-based recycling firm Sierra is on a personal mission to

change what he calls ‘the narrative of our industry’. With a professional camera

crew, he is criss-crossing the US in search of great stories for his docuseries

‘Repurposed’.

see it from start to finish. I don’t think
they could do what we’re going to do.
However, hopefully “Repurposed” will
be an inspiration to helping both
organisations make something in their
own way for the industry as a whole.’

WHEN AND ON WHICH CHAN-
NELS WILL THE SERIES BE
BROADCAST?
‘At this point, we are negotiating with
several channels. We know it will defi-
nitely be on our YouTube channel. We
feel there will be many platforms to
broadcast this docuseries. We’re look-
ing to release it in December or
January.’

“REPURPOSED” IS ABOUT THE
US/NORTH AMERICA? WILL
THERE BE ANOTHER SERIES ON
EUROPE OR ASIA?
‘It all depends on whether
“Repurposed” gets picked up and is
seen as something that these distribu-
tion channels would love to have

WHAT IS ‘REPURPOSED’?
‘“Repurposed” is a docuseries show-
casing how recycled materials get
made into products that we use in our
everyday lives. Season One of the
series is strictly focused on the pro-
duction of new steel and paper.’

WHAT MAKES A BUSY RECYCLER
AND MACHINERY MANUFAC-
TURER DECIDE TO LAUNCH A
MAJOR VIDEO DOCUMENTARY
PROJECT?
‘It’s simple. We all sit around and ask
when is somebody finally going to do
something about changing the narra-
tive in our industry. Then you realise
that you are that somebody. I’m
blessed to have a very creative editor
in Darren Doane along with the ability
to fund this project financially. Plus,
it’s also really fun to make.’

‘WHAT ARE WE GOING TO SEE?
‘The number of episodes isn’t quite
determined but we are considering
anywhere from four to six in our first
season. We visit a steel mill and talk
about how new steel is made from
recycled iron and how the implemen-
tation of safety procedures is critical
for the people who operate a steel
mill. We’ll also be visiting a paper mill
that makes paper from virgin wood
and from recycled paper. This particu-
lar mill owns its own forests and har-
vests wood to be sent to lumber mills

– the residual from the lumber mills is
what virgin paper is made from. You’ll
also be seeing us interview George
Adams from SA Recycling, Jay
Robinovitz from Alter Trading and
loads of other guests on how recy-
cling – and the products made from
recycled materials – are used in our
everyday lives.’

TELL US A BIT ABOUT WHAT
YOUR APPROACH. IS THERE A
SCRIPT?
‘No script. We document the journey.
We document where we go and the
people we talk to, and then we create
the docuseries from what’s taken from
that. We do brainstorm some ideas
but we never have written scripts. Our
approach is that we see things
through the lens of a camera for the
first time, so you never know what
you’re going to hear or see. The raw
reactions and discussions that come
from that always turn out way better
than something that’s scripted out.’

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED
FROM MAKING THIS DOCUSE-
RIES, FROM THE PEOPLE YOU
MET AND INTERVIEWED?
‘From the paper mill we visited, I
learned that paper mills have their
own forests and that they grow trees
that are later used to make new
paper. Much like wheat, corn and
other crops that we harvest annually,

trees are harvested every 40-50 years.
I learned how they keep sunlight off
the forest floor and how to keep the
forest soil healthy in order to prevent
wildfire. I learned that in making
paper, there’s a de-inking process –
the Washington cleansing – in which
the water is scientifically treated to
clean in a way that is environmentally
friendly. The water that these paper
mills are putting back into the envi-
ronment is cleaner than the water they
used when they took it out. At the
steel mill we visited for the series, I
learned that their approach is strictly
using 100% recycled iron in a way that
safety is a primary concern during the
steelmaking process. They’re also
working with certain customers and
stocking raw materials for those cus-
tomers to have the materials that they
need at a moment’s notice. And they
use 100% renewable energy to make
steel from wind.’

AN ENTHUSIASTIC BIR AUDI-
ENCE IN DUBAI WATCHED THE
TRAILER FOR ‘REPURPOSED.’
VERY IMPRESSIVE INDEED,
HOLLYWOOD STYLE. MY FIRST
THOUGHT WAS THAT THIS WAS
SOMETHING BIR/ISRI COULD
HAVE INITIATED AS AN INDUS-
TRY BODY – DO YOU AGREE?
‘I don’t believe that BIR and ISRI, as
trade associations, can share the same
creative vision that I share with Darren
Doane in creating our content. We
have a completely different and
unconventional style of making con-
tent in the way we collaborate with
each other and with what we see.
Neither BIR nor ISRI would have that
ability because they would have to
give it to a production company to

A U T H O R Martijn Reintjes

John Sacco (second left) and his crew filming at steel maker SSAB.

08-09_interview.indd 8 09-11-2022 11:40