It’s important for Jina Kim to think outside the box. After all, it’s not easy being a specialist for the City of Renton Solid Waste Program and trying to get residents excited about reducing their waste.

So when Kim came across the Meaningful Movies of Renton, a neighborhood film and discussion event that often focused on issues around social justice and advocacy, she knew she could use this forum as a way of informing the community about issues surrounding waste and environmental pollution.

The Meaningful Movies of Renton, a subset of the Meaningful Movies Project, was the brainchild of Lara Randolph, member of Sustainable Renton and local environmental advocate.

When Randolph and Kim got together, they came up with a perfect solution to promote environmental issues that impacted Renton in an informative and engaging way – an Eco Film Series.

“It was a really great fit for us because they [Sustainable Renton] had experience on film screenings for the community as well as starting a dialogue about socially relevant issues,” said Kim. “With the Eco Film Series, we are informing the public about waste related environmental issues that are important in maintaining or improving the quality of life as the City of Renton continues to grow.”

While shaping the series, Kim and Randolph decided to focus on issues that residents in Renton were facing as the population steadily grows: food waste, plastic waste and water pollution.

“Our movies have been focused on sustainability, not politics,” said Randolph. “Our goal is to educate the community and bring them together, rather than create more divides.”

The series screened its first film,”Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story.” According to Kim, the turnout was surprising.

“We had about a 100 people come out…not only from Renton but also neighboring cities,” said Kim. “From attending the event, you could tell there was a lot of interest in the topic of food waste.”

However, a mere film series is not enough to transform a community to become environmentally conscious and responsible.

“We’re not expecting behavior change overnight,” said Kim. “Obviously it’s a long-term goal that we’re constantly working toward. It’s all about involvement and engagement with community. This is something we’re committed to in the long run so as people become more exposed to these issues and learn more about it, we can impact some change.”

The second film in the series, “Bag It: Is Your Life too Plastic?” is an award-winning movie that chronicles the journey of a man who investigates the environmental and health impacts of plastic bags and merchandise. Both Kim and Randolph speculate that the issue of plastic waste is one that isn’t as popular as food waste. According to Kim, changing one’s lifestyle isn’t an easy step.

“For most people, they want to do the right thing,” said Kim. “It’s a matter of thinking about these topics a little bit differently and trying to make small changes that are more manageable, rather than making a large change at once that some may find overwhelming.”

According to Randolph there are easy ways to reduce plastic dependency and change the momentum of a community, such as talking to local store owners about the positive impacts about using paper bags and compostable to-go containers.

“The real concern is that they’re more expensive,” said Randolph “That’s our real obstacle… we want to tread lightly, but forcefully.”

The free film is set to screen from 6:30 till 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 11 at Carco Theater. There will be a moderated discussion following the screening, and refreshments will be available.

The third and final film of the series, “Sound & Vision,” will focus on water pollution, and is set to screen on Mar. 10 at Carco Theater.