If film and TV producers planned their wrap strategies in the same way as their shoot schedules, the screen industry would unlock significant environmental, financial and social gains.

In film and TV, every great story begins long before the cameras roll. Scripts are developed, budgets scrutinised, schedules refined and teams assembled with detailed care. Yet one crucial chapter is still often left unwritten until the very last moment: the wrap. What happens to the thousands of assets – props, costumes, set materials, equipment – once a production ends?

The most recent report from BAFTA Albert, the screen industry body for environmental sustainability, sheds some light on the issue: 800,000 tonnes of materials were sent to landfill in 2024. Productions generate enormous volumes of waste, much of which could have a life beyond the screen. The data makes clear that we must rethink how we handle materials across their entire lifecycle.

Current challenges: a disposable industry in need of reinvention
The industry mirrors wider societal habits: fast consumption and short-term thinking. Sets are built at speed and dismantled just as quickly. Costumes may be worn once. Scenic materials, furniture, equipment and even unopened consumables often go into skips, not because they lack value, but because the systems around them don’t support reuse.

Storage is a particular challenge. Productions rarely have long-term space and many companies rent storage units that accumulate assets for years without inventory or purpose. We’ve visited units stacked floor-to-ceiling with untouched items – furniture, equipment, craft materials – kept simply because no one had the time or structure to sort, redistribute or responsibly clear them.

As a result, productions keep paying for storage, while valuable resources sit untouched and inaccessible to the industry and the community groups who could benefit from them.

Boxes of shoes left over after a production wraps

The solution: circular thinking that works for everyone
The answer is not blame; it’s collaboration, celebration and the consistent showcasing of what’s already working. Across the UK, we see countless productions, art departments, set decorators and costume teams championing sustainable choices, whether that’s sourcing second-hand, hiring rather than buying or donating materials at wrap. These teams prove that sustainability and creativity are not competing priorities – they strengthen one another.

To scale this across the industry, three shifts must happen:

• Make sustainability a core production value not a departmental add-on. Environmental strategy shouldn’t fall solely to freelance crew or buyers. It must be embedded into budgeting, scheduling and leadership decisions, with the lifecycle of assets planned alongside procurement.

• Treat the wrap as a strategic phase, not an afterthought. Clearance should be recognised and resourced just like purchasing. Productions budget for what comes on to the set; they must also budget for where it all goes next. Engaging with broadcasters early in the greenlight process helps bring everyone on board from the outset, ensuring the importance of reuse, redistribution and recycling is understood and that associated costs are built into the budget. An open positive and responsive approach supports better outcomes for all. We’re always happy to advise on how to approach these conversations. Buyers, broadcasters and production companies all play a shared role in reducing waste and the industry’s environmental footprint.

• Adopt a ‘check it before you chuck it’ culture. One of the most common pieces of feedback we hear is that productions are astonished by how many items can be reused or repurposed. Before anything goes into a skip, consider whether it may have a second life – because almost always, it does.

At PropUp Project, this is our mission. We take the entire clearance process off productions’ hands through rehoming, reselling and recycling leftover assets of all types. From props and costumes to furniture, scenic materials, office equipment, and technical kit, we find onward pathways for almost everything.

From prison dramas to period classics, entertainment shows to reality series, there is always such an array of items that can become resources for so many – even the more niche, surprising pieces can have a second life.

On our most recent job, we rehomed Astroturf to a dog home and youth clubs, a mascot costume to a rugby academy, boxes of warm clothing and boots to a homeless shelter, leftover paint and equipment to a reuse hub and even the set flats and builds went on to be reused by a children’s theatre company.

Circular practices are not a ‘nice-to-have’ – they are a strategic necessity that streamlines budgets, reduces waste and strengthens a positive production culture. These practices shouldn’t be optional, they should be built into core production values.

Our approach is simple: reduce waste, simplify wrap and build a circular economy that benefits both industry and society. We divert high-quality materials from landfill, save productions time and money, and strengthen connections between the screen industry and local communities.

Because when materials get a second life, stories do too.

If film and TV producers planned their wrap strategies in the same way as their shoot schedules, the screen industry would unlock significant environmental, financial and social gains.

In film and TV, every great story begins long before the cameras roll. Scripts are developed, budgets scrutinised, schedules refined and teams assembled with detailed care. Yet one crucial chapter is still often left unwritten until the very last moment: the wrap. What happens to the thousands of assets – props, costumes, set materials, equipment – once a production ends?

The most recent report from BAFTA Albert, the screen industry body for environmental sustainability, sheds some light on the issue: 800,000 tonnes of materials were sent to landfill in 2024. Productions generate enormous volumes of waste, much of which could have a life beyond the screen. The data makes clear that we must rethink how we handle materials across their entire lifecycle.

Current challenges: a disposable industry in need of reinvention
The industry mirrors wider societal habits: fast consumption and short-term thinking. Sets are built at speed and dismantled just as quickly. Costumes may be worn once. Scenic materials, furniture, equipment and even unopened consumables often go into skips, not because they lack value, but because the systems around them don’t support reuse.

Storage is a particular challenge. Productions rarely have long-term space and many companies rent storage units that accumulate assets for years without inventory or purpose. We’ve visited units stacked floor-to-ceiling with untouched items – furniture, equipment, craft materials – kept simply because no one had the time or structure to sort, redistribute or responsibly clear them.

As a result, productions keep paying for storage, while valuable resources sit untouched and inaccessible to the industry and the community groups who could benefit from them.

Boxes of shoes left over after a production wraps

The solution: circular thinking that works for everyone
The answer is not blame; it’s collaboration, celebration and the consistent showcasing of what’s already working. Across the UK, we see countless productions, art departments, set decorators and costume teams championing sustainable choices, whether that’s sourcing second-hand, hiring rather than buying or donating materials at wrap. These teams prove that sustainability and creativity are not competing priorities – they strengthen one another.

To scale this across the industry, three shifts must happen:

• Make sustainability a core production value not a departmental add-on. Environmental strategy shouldn’t fall solely to freelance crew or buyers. It must be embedded into budgeting, scheduling and leadership decisions, with the lifecycle of assets planned alongside procurement.

• Treat the wrap as a strategic phase, not an afterthought. Clearance should be recognised and resourced just like purchasing. Productions budget for what comes on to the set; they must also budget for where it all goes next. Engaging with broadcasters early in the greenlight process helps bring everyone on board from the outset, ensuring the importance of reuse, redistribution and recycling is understood and that associated costs are built into the budget. An open positive and responsive approach supports better outcomes for all. We’re always happy to advise on how to approach these conversations. Buyers, broadcasters and production companies all play a shared role in reducing waste and the industry’s environmental footprint.

• Adopt a ‘check it before you chuck it’ culture. One of the most common pieces of feedback we hear is that productions are astonished by how many items can be reused or repurposed. Before anything goes into a skip, consider whether it may have a second life – because almost always, it does.

At PropUp Project, this is our mission. We take the entire clearance process off productions’ hands through rehoming, reselling and recycling leftover assets of all types. From props and costumes to furniture, scenic materials, office equipment, and technical kit, we find onward pathways for almost everything.

From prison dramas to period classics, entertainment shows to reality series, there is always such an array of items that can become resources for so many – even the more niche, surprising pieces can have a second life.

On our most recent job, we rehomed Astroturf to a dog home and youth clubs, a mascot costume to a rugby academy, boxes of warm clothing and boots to a homeless shelter, leftover paint and equipment to a reuse hub and even the set flats and builds went on to be reused by a children’s theatre company.

Circular practices are not a ‘nice-to-have’ – they are a strategic necessity that streamlines budgets, reduces waste and strengthens a positive production culture. These practices shouldn’t be optional, they should be built into core production values.

Our approach is simple: reduce waste, simplify wrap and build a circular economy that benefits both industry and society. We divert high-quality materials from landfill, save productions time and money, and strengthen connections between the screen industry and local communities.

Because when materials get a second life, stories do too.