British TV Abandones People In Garbage Dumps

No, really. The UK's Channel 4 (thanks to the commenter who points out it's not the same thing as the BBC) has got a show where they put people in a garbage dump and see if they can survive on the trash that other people throw away for a few weeks. It's something like the successful BBC show "Castaway," in which groups of people are left in remote places in the wilderness. Only for this show, they're living in a landfill.

In other parts of the world, garbage-picking is a way of life: the Patayas landfill outside Manila is legendary for the number and organization of the people who make a living from it. This show should serve to demonstrate both the wastefulness of the contemporary UK lifestyle, and the kinds of hardships that some third-world residents go through on a daily basis. It should also serve up some laughs as people get completely grossed out by living in, on, and from trash.

We can only hope that the concept will reach the US. My suggestion: Paris Hilton, no time limit, and no cameras.

Comments

[Jonathan]

Hi there, just a small thing: the show was actually made by Channel 4 rather than the BBC.