Big Picture

A movie theater, like the movies it shows, has a lot going on behind the scenes. That pungent scent of buttered popcorn wafting all the way to the last stall in the secret bathroom? That doesn’t happen naturally. There is pomp, there is circumstance, and there is a lot of room to ask, IzzitGreen? Think about, for example, those giant signs for "You Don’t Mess With The Zohan." What happens to that 10'x10' sheet of cardboard after The Zohan is messed with, and no longer in theaters? Or think about the freezing-cold air in the middle of a muggy summer that is not simply produced by glacial melt. Movies are fun and often educational, but we need make sure that two hours of "An Inconvenient Truth" is convenient for both the audience and the environment.

Factoids n' Stuff

• There are almost 40,000 screens in the US. (National Association of Theater Owners, 2007, accessed May 19, 2008).
• The Red Vic movie house in San Francisco, CA is a locally owned and run theater which offers organic food and couches instead of seats. They are also one of the first theaters to run on solar power. (Sprig, "Pioneering Green Movie Theater Flips Switch Solar", May 16, 2008, accessed May 19, 2008.)
• If restroom paper towel waste gets you down, and hand dryers do not get your dry, consider just wiping your hands on your pants like 40% of us. (Adams, Cecil, "What's better for the environment, electric hand dryers or paper towels?", August 17, 2007, accessed May 19, 2008).
• Popcorn is healthy when you pop 2-3 cups of it at home—high in fiber and low in calories. But when you get to the theater and order that large buttery popcorn, you're scarfing down up to 20 (!!) cups of popcorn, often popped in highly saturated coconut oil. (Center for Science in the Public Interest, "Popcorn: Oil in a Day's Work", May 1994, accessed May 19, 2008).

What Goes In?

An evening at the theater entails far more than pretty pictures on a screen, as you’re sitting on chairs that were produced somewhere in some fashion, and you’re snacking on food that was produced in some place, and then shipped out to you. Don’t forget the paper and lights in the bathroom. Or the 24/7 electronic signs out front announcing movie times (or, SOLD OUT, just as you walk up). So next time you arrive early to get good seats and need to kill some time, take a look at the different areas of a theater—sales (tickets, concessions), restrooms, open spaces, and screens/theaters. At each area, get a sense of how resources are being used. Are there hand-dryers in the bathrooms, or napkins at the concession stand? In what cups are sodas sold? How much paper is involved in the ticket process? Make sure there is a conservative use of resources.

What Comes Out?

With so much product-per-person being used over the torturous course of 121 minutes of "Gigli," it is important to ask, How green is all of this? A key question because of all the paper waste (tickets, cups, candy/food containers) is, Does this theater recycle? And because movie theaters are so large and often seen as a respite from the natural temperature outside, also take a feel for the air. How overboard has this theater gone in warming up or cooling down the space?

How's it Run?

Does the physical space feel well taken-care of? Get a sense of if the theater is trying anything unconventional—washable soda cups or popcorn tubs, smaller or electronic tickets, more natural snack options. You’ll also want to know, well, how much the theater is running. If a theater has 12 screens, and only 8 are in use, what do those other 4 look like; are the lights turned off, is the temperature controlled, are clichéd movietickets.com commercials still running on the screen? We want to look at how much energy a theater eats up.

What They Care About

Ultimately, we want our theater to understand how much is coming in and going out, and to thoughtfully regulate that. We can suss this out by asking specific questions; have they installed recycling bins, and do they openly encourage their customers to use them? We can also look at the bigger, hopefully in-motion and action-packed picture; does this theater seem to care about its impact and clientele, more than on a financial level?

What to Ask

• Where was this popcorn/hotdog/nacho made?
• Is this food local, organic, or both?
• How far did my snack have to travel to get to my mouth?
• What do you do with the leftover popcorn each night?
• What happens to these large cardboard posters after the movie comes out?
• What cleaning products are used throughout the theater?
• How are you heating/cooling all of this space?
• Do you know what your carbon footprint is (given all the different services you are providing) and what are you doing to offset it?

What to Do

• Support independent – Independent movie theaters are able to support local businesses (Aunt Ma’s all-natural brownies, etc.) and make their own decisions.
• Buy smart – if purchasing concessions, aim for food that is healthy for both you and the environment. This probably doesn’t include the hot dog.
• Bring your own – you needn’t buy a barrel of popcorn at the theater; you can bring your own local, organic popped-at-home popcorn, artfully tucked away under your jacket.
• Put in the extra steps – where applicable, take your trash with you, and recycle it on your own.
• Ask questions – you’ll get a sense of the behind-the-scenes by how your questions are received and answered.

Find Out More

• Popcorn: Oil in a Day's Work
• The Top Pops--popcorn nutritional information