Plot Synopsis

WASTELAND is a four-part documentary series that examines the terrible impact waste is having on America's waterways. In this series, Adam Yamaguchi explores the unusual and unimaginable challenges that Americans living in parts of the country must overcome to preserve their health and property from the encroachment of waste in their water and homes. All four half-hour episodes of WASTELAND dropped on Thursday, February 24, 2022 on Paramount+:

"Alabama": In what residents of Loundes County, Alabama refer to as a forgotten area of the country, many homes go without proper sewage systems. In one home we visit, it is nothing more than a pipe that dumps directly from the toilet to a pit in the backyard, steps away from a window. Where septic systems are installed, sewage backups are all too common, spewing all manner of waste back into homes. In this episode, Adam meets residents struggling to upgrade their systems - and a couple women on a mission to help bring much-needed change.

"New York": In the shadow of New York City, a town surrounded by wealth is overwhelmed by a decrepit sewage system that threatens to swallow it whole. Adam Yamaguchi heads to the city of Mt. Vernon and discovers a sewage system that feels worlds away. He meets residents and business owners who, daily, are afraid to flush their toilets, as they're not sure whether the contents will go down the tubes or come right back up into their homes. In this episode, Adam darts around town with the commissioner of public works, who tries to plug one problem in the city's crumbling sewer system, before another one explodes.

"Florida": Adam Yamaguchi heads to one of the country's fastest growing regions, where residents and business owners still recoil about the disastrous algae blooms that brought on economic and environmental devastation that killed millions of fish and wildlife. But besides scientists, few seem to want to reckon with the culprit, development. Too many people, too many septic tanks, and not enough infrastructure, is poisoning the waters. In this episode, Adam searches for solutions, but finds that the benefits of rapid development in this coastal paradise might prove too alluring to slow down.

"Iowa": For more than 150 years farmers in Iowa have been raising corn & pigs. And for more than 150 years the people of Iowa have been drinking untreated water from rivers polluted with nitrogen fertilizers, pesticides and livestock excrement. In this episode, Adam travels across America's breadbasket, meeting farmers and residents raising the alarm about the environmental and health impact of all the waste being generated. But in a state where Big Ag wields massive power and influence, will the residents and local officials' concerns be heard?