RECOLOGY: 100 Year Annivesary

From the Gold Rush to the AI boom, San Francisco has always been a city reinventing itself and someone has always had to take out the trash. For Recology’s 100th anniversary, we created a film celebrating the unsung workforce that has kept the city running for more than a century. The story traces the evolution of garbage collection from the rough-and-tumble days of horse carts and muddy streets to today’s high-tech, sustainability-driven city.

Built from a playful blend of history and filmmaking craft, the video brings archival photos to life as they morph into present-day recreations of the same scenes. Recology’s remarkable collection of antique trucks rolls through the story like time machines reminding us that while San Francisco keeps changing, the people who keep the city clean have been part of its story all along.

Concept Development | Video Direction & Design