Are Playbills environmentally friendly?

[Armie3]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 8:52am

All that pulp paper, night after night, show after show. Are they sustainable? Are they necessary?

I know about the union rules, but shouldn't the planet take precedence?

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 9:19am

You don't have to take them

You can return them at the end of the performance

You can recycle them

You can save them and reminisce, no landfall then!

You can sell them on eBay or similar

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 9:20am

Of all the things in this city playbills are not even remotely a concern in hurting the environment.

[haterobics]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 9:25am

Armie3 said: "I know about the union rules, but shouldn't the planet take precedence?"

#toolate

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 9:42am

Broadway Joe said: "Of all the things in this city playbills are not even remotely a concern in hurting the environment."

this is precisely the mentality that got us into the dire straits we are in. "I don't have to be concerned about what I dump because my trash alone is not an environmental threat."

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 9:54am

HogansHero said: "Broadway Joe said: "Of all the things in this city playbills are not even remotely a concern in hurting the environment."

this is precisely the mentality that got us into the dire straits we are in. "I don't have to be concerned about what I dump because my trash alone is not an environmental threat.""

The mentality of denying climate change and all the things surrounding it is what put the world in the place its at today. I'm not denying anything, would it be better if playbills went away and it was just on an app? Sure, so would all physical media, newspapers and magazines at this point and I would be all for it. 

All I meant is that in terms of living in this city when it comes to environmental issues is that playbills are the least of my concerns.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 9:56am

Wee Thomas2 said: "You don't have to take them"

Whether you take one or not,  the same number of Playbills will be printed.

You can return them at the end of the performance

Theaters do not distribute used Playbills. Even if patrons would accept a used one, Playbill would still keep printing the same number of Playbills. So there would be no reduction.

You can recycle them

They will never again be a tree, though. 

You can save them and reminisce, no landfall then!
You can sell them on eBay or similar"

You seem to miss the point completely. Tens of thousands of Playbills are distributed DAILY in New York alone. The amount of waste is mind-blowing. I'd argue that at least 1/3 of the Playbills are left at the theater, most of which are in no condition to be redistributed. It's an incredible waste. 

[76Trombones 2]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 10:00am

Dig two holes in the ground. In one of the holes, bury a playbill. In the other hole, bury a smartphone. Which one is greener?

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 10:18am

76Trombones 2 said: "Dig two holes in the ground. In one of the holes, bury a playbill. In the other hole, bury a smartphone. Which one is greener?"

Are the Playbills from Wicked?

[Rainah]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 11:22am

For what it's worth I have absolutely seen theatres reuse them, especially if you say "no thank you" to the playbill and dont take it in the first place.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 11:25am

Ummm....if you dont take one....its mot being re-used at all.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 12:12pm

For most people, it's the only souvenir they can afford after paying for a theatre ticket nowadays.

That said, it would be nice if Playbills, along with more publications, at least printed on recycled paper. (I assuming most don't.) But I'm sure that would drive up the cost. Barring that, I'd hope the leftovers at the end of the month are at least recycled. 

[veronicamae]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 12:14pm

Well, at least trees are a renewable resource and the Playbills can be recycled. Not that that's a perfect situation, but it's better than other consumables used by the industry.

There's been some talk in recent months about Playbills going 100% digital if I recall.

Maybe reach out to 1) Playbill and inquire about whether or not they use recycled materials for their printing (unless someone already knows?) and 2) the Broadway Green Alliance?

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 5:10pm

Fosse76 said: "Wee Thomas2 said: "You don't have to take them"

Whether you take one or not, the same number of Playbills will be printed.

You can return them at the end of the performance

Theaters do not distribute used Playbills. Even if patrons would accept a used one, Playbill would still keepprinting the same number of Playbills. So there would be no reduction.

You can recycle them

They will never again be a tree, though.

You can save them and reminisce, no landfall then!
You can sell them on eBay or similar"

You seem to miss the point completely. Tens of thousands of Playbills are distributed DAILY in New York alone. The amount of waste is mind-blowing. I'd argue that at least 1/3 of the Playbills are left at the theater, most of which are in no condition to be redistributed. It's an incredible waste."

If 500 people don't take them, then that's 1 less box that gets ordered/printed/thrown away (I don't know how many come in a box)

 

No one is questioning there is waste here, but we can each act to avoid it by refusing to take one, or returning it in good condition.  And recyclng DOES help avoid cutting down additional trees.

 

You have a good point here.  No need to go off the deep end by denying the value of refusal or recycling

[Platypus]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 5:46pm

Some touring houses have done away with printing programs and just email a PDF out with the show reminder. The theatre that I'm thinking of is out of town from where I live so I don't go there often but the time I saw it was for a non-equity tour. Maybe the trend will continue. 

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 6:21pm

Wee Thomas2 said: "If 500 people don't take them, then that's 1 less box that gets ordered/printed/thrown away (I don't know how many come in a box)"

Playbill actually pays Broadway theaters to distribute Playbills, therefore they provide a capacity's worth amount of Playbills to each theater once or twice per week. A Broadway theater only "orders" Playbills when there isn't enough supply to make it to the next delivery date (it happens, every once in a while). Even if 500 people didn't take one, Playbill would still continue to print them. They collect undistributed Playbills at month's end (to prevent the wrong month from being distributed). 

No one is questioning there is waste here, but we can each act to avoid it by refusing to take one, or returning it in good condition. And recyclng DOES help avoid cutting down additional trees.

There is no returning, though. Playbills left out are discarded by the cleaning staff. Whether or not they are in good condition. Some ushers in some houses have a specific place they store their undistributed Playbills, but that's usually out of sight of the audience. 

Personally, I think they should charge for them. That would significantly reduce the number of Playbills distributed. Pretty much everything is electronic these days, they can develop a phone app that has all the necessary information for the current performance. 

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 6:24pm

Classic Stage Company is all digital. 

[Platypus]

Posted: 8/12/19 at 7:48pm

Fosse76 said: "Personally, I think they should charge for them. That would significantly reduce the number of Playbills distributed. Pretty much everything is electronic these days, they can develop a phone app that has all the necessary information for the current performance."

That's what they do in the West End, and it makes sense. They charge 2 or 3 pounds for them, which is no big deal for people who want the souvenir, but the people who would just throw them away or leave them at their seats don't bother. I'm sure they end up using significantly less paper. 

 

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 8/13/19 at 3:23am

Get rid of them, everything is available online at the show’s or theater’s website. Before curtain and intermission, everyone is staring at their phones anyway. So many resources are used and not just paper. Chemicals are in the ink, energy is needed to print, deliver, and discard them. Excess cardboard for shipping. Let’s get rid of the little slips of paper for cast changes, and have the two required announce,ents be a sign in the lobby and the pre-curtain announcement. I’m grateful that people have jobs in the playbill industry. But I’d be fine if playbills went away. 

[magictodo123]

Posted: 8/13/19 at 7:55am

I think at the downtown production of Cruel Intentions they had a digital playbill, but nothing was physically handed out (except part of Sebastian's diary). I agree- it is an option that you don't have to take one. However, when I was an usher I know people wouldn't even say anything, they'd just see me holding them and hold their hand out. What's interesting is that at the end of the performance there would be so many playbills discarded around the seats! I think you should only take one if you know you'll actually save it and not just leave it in the theater. If you're more than one person, you can always read the playbill of the person you came with. 

[IAMREADING]

Posted: 8/16/19 at 8:09pm

they are not necessary unless there is a list of songs in the order performed. shows like the cher show and oklahoma! which do not include the songs, their playbills are just a dead tree to me. i would miss seeing who was in an episode of law and order or is making their broadway debut but whatever.

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 8/16/19 at 9:43pm

Apparently I'm in the minority but I like the playbills and would prefer to see the shows find other ways to go green. I would pay a small amount for them if that was what happened because I like to collect them but I think it's a great souvenir that should be free because the tickets are expensive enough to begin with. I've struck up conversations with people in Times Square after shows just based on me seeing the playbill they're holding or vice versa. I am not anti-environment but I would not like to see playbills go digital.

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 8/16/19 at 10:48pm

Y’all suck the fun out of everything.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/16/19 at 11:05pm

You suck plastic straws.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 8/16/19 at 11:15pm

The real tree-killer with playbills is all the ads. The actual show-specific content in a playbill is only about 10 pages.

Are tickets environmentally friendly? Every other live event I attend other than theatre (in addition to planes, trains, prepaid parking) all have digital versions that scan off phones. What uses more paper- the people who print at home and get an 8X11 page full of ads when all they need is a 1X2" barcode, or real tickets with the thicker pulp in triplicate because of the receipts?

ETA: NAMO!

Updated On: 8/17/19 at 11:15 PM