December 19, 2008

MoJo Audio: Dave Chameides

What happens when you store a year’s worth of trash in your basement?

Photo: Jonathan Alcorn

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


To hear the audio podcast of MoJo‘s interview with Dave Chameides, click below:

Meet Dave Chameides, a 39-year-old father of two and Hollywood cameraman whose work includes Donnie Darko, Will and Grace, and The West Wing. Since January, Chameides has not thrown away any of his trash—he has cataloged and stored all of it in his basement. What accumulates is whatever can’t be reused, recycled, composted, or fed to the worms. For the average American—who generates 4.6 pounds of waste each day—this could be a messy experiment. But as Chameides blogs on 365 Days of Trash and SustainableDave, it’s possible to live a comfortable, fulfilling life while generating only 1 pound of waste a month.

Recently, Chameides spoke with MoJo about the joy of worm composting, the problem with restaurants, and what his young daughters think about his trash, soon to become an educational exhibit in Connecticut’s Trash Museum.

Take the next step: Help us fight for the truth.

Investigative journalism, like the story you just read, takes time to do. Months of research. Weeks of writing, editing, and fact checking—and putting together the photography, art, video, and audio that tell the stories in a new way, illuminating new perspectives and voices.

We can afford to take that time because we don’t report to an oligarch or corporation with a special agenda. We report to you, and for you. That’s why we unabashedly pursue the truth and relentlessly shine a light into the darkness.

In this month’s Summer Membership Drive, we’ve got to raise $200,000 to support more crucial investigations. This is a pivotal moment in our nation, with democracy on the line, and we can only do this work because readers like you step up. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference here. We cannot do this work without you.

So, we’re asking: Will you support independent journalism that demands those in power answer for their actions?

Take the next step: Help us fight for the truth.

Investigative journalism, like the story you just read, takes time to do. Months of research. Weeks of writing, editing, and fact checking—and putting together the photography, art, video, and audio that tell the stories in a new way, illuminating new perspectives and voices

We can afford to take that time because we don’t report to an oligarch or corporation with a special agenda. We report to you, and for you. That’s why we unabashedly pursue the truth and relentlessly shine a light into the darkness.

In this month’s Summer Membership Drive, we’ve got to raise $200,000 to support more crucial investigations. This is a pivotal moment in our nation, with democracy on the line, and we can only do this work because readers like you step up. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference here. We cannot do this work without you.

So, we’re asking: Will you support independent journalism that demands those in power answer for their actions?

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

INDEPENDENT. BECAUSE OF YOU.

Mother Jones has no billionaires calling the shots—just readers like you making fearless reporting possible

Donate