Great documentary stems from curiosity. And the question behind Plastic China is simply, ‘who are those people that recycle plastic?’ The answer paints a portrait of a cottage industry living among the consequences of a consumption culture. Family, work, loyalty, education and aspiration are all at play. But the plastic background is unsettling. Dirty used plastic is strewn everywhere, the families and workers are strewn among it.

Perhaps in the coming years we’ll see The Cherry Orchard set in a plastic recycling factory. As the tide encroaches, the toxic disintegration is a powerful backdrop.

There is an unanswered question in the film. Living, breathing, bathing, working and playing among decaying plastic could seem a boon for kids’ imagination, until one of our characters suspects he is riddled with tumours. He doesn’t want to see a doctor in case it’s something bad. West and East aren’t so different after all. He never does go. We don’t find out what those lumps and bumps are. Nor do we know if our child characters are affected. But the fear of plastic health pollution colours the whole film. Whether that’s what the film actually about, or whether it is the backdrop to our character’s desires for wealth, status and education, is up to the viewer. But I was left recoiling from the plastic all around me.

Plastic China is simultaneously about recycling and environmental damage, about consumption and salvage. Plastic needs people to recycle it. It uses them up. Ditch your watercooler cups and ready meals. The stuff is choking everybody.