[speaker001:] Start.
[speaker002:] What kind of recycling programs do you have in Rowlett?
[speaker001:] Um, th-, well right now they've got a, kind of a central location off of the main highway, and they've got some great big bins there for newspaper, um, plastic, um, I think three bins for glass, white, green, and whatev-, whatever other combination there is.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] And, and I think they've got a comp-, uh, some kind of container for aluminum.
[speaker002:] Plano's doing real good on that. They have, uh, they start off putting out great big huge garbage cans.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Which we're supposed to put all our week's garbage into it, and of course it doesn't fit right now.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] But now we start in May, breaking it down, and they're picking it all up.
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] So they're going to by, and we have to separate our papers, and our glass, and then, uh, they have one day for, like, um, oh, everything you picked up from your yard,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and we put that in disposable bags, and they pick that up on Monday.
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] So it's really great. I, I'm really going head, you know, completely for it, I think it's marvelous.
[speaker001:] Well, that's good. Well, Rowlett had sent, sent out a survey, not too long ago, um, in terms in how many people were interested in having a, a pick up, I guess, on the days they do trash or something like that. And apparently a lot of people responded to it favorl-, favorably, because they're going to do it. I don't know how, how soon they're going to do it, or how organized it's going to be, but they're, they're supposed to initiate that some-, sometime in the next couple of months.
[speaker002:] Well, does your, uh, where you work, do they also have aluminum cans pickups and things like that?
[speaker001:] Um, I've never noticed that. We don't have a, a whole lot, because we're in a hospital setting, so most of the things we have are through our cafeteria. Um,
[speaker002:] Well, down in the cafeteria do they have any place where you can put your, you know, pop cans, and things like that?
[speaker001:] Um, no. There's, there's only one pop machine and it's not accessible to the cafeteria now, so, uh, mainly what they serve in there is juice and coffee and tea.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] So you don't have much choice there.
[speaker001:] No [LAUGHTER]. Not, not really.
[speaker002:] Well I work at, uh, J C Penny and last week they brought, they have a sign up that says for one full week
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] you bring in your old wire hangers and they're going to recycle them.
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] So it's getting people clean out their closets and such.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And then like, the week before that, they said go through your cupboards and any food that is still good, bring it in and they brought it down to the shelters. And, they have, one, two, they have three, I think, that I know of
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] for cans for people have pop, and they put them right near where they have the time cards.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] And it works great. And they have one in the room where the [clicking] snack machines are too.
[speaker001:] That's good.
[speaker002:] So they're really going at it, and I think it's marvelous because,
[speaker001:] Yeah. I, I guess Rowlett's done a lot for the size town it is.
[speaker002:] Well,
[speaker001:] And I think they're trying to, to make some changes. I, I noticed at the library or someplace this past, uh, month, month and a half ago, they were having a speaker, um, talk about doing lawn work and, h-, how important it is to, to cut your lawn without a bag. Just to kind of mulch it,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] rather than bag it up, because of a-, all the the grass that's being bagged and being hauled away by the garbage trucks and stuff, and it's, uh, I guess a lot more e-, ecological to just mow the grass and let it work its way back into the soil.
[speaker002:] Well, did you watch the program the other night on, um, was it SAVE AMERICA?
[speaker001:] I saw part of that.
[speaker002:] It was good. The only thing I g-, thought, um, that I haven't been trying, is when I, you know, go to take a shower, to save the water,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and to put it on my plants. Which I had never thought about before.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] But I've already gone to, oh I started years ago, I guess, not years ago, but, yeah I would say five years ago, turning off my fountain, I mean my water faucet,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] in the sink when I brush my teeth. But I didn't realize that was the biggest waste of water.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] That was surprising to me.
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] I missed that question, totally, I mean really bad. I'm trying to think, I didn't miss too many, I can't remember what my score was, but I did exceeding well. I was surprised. But I didn't realize that our garbage isn't being decomposed. That was a shocker to me.
[speaker001:] Yeah, well there are a lot of things that aren't, I'm, that's, uh, one of the things I wonder about, uh, one of the questions was, do you think more should be done, or something else. I, I wonder about some of the prod-, products that they don't take, like some of the plastics and things that they don't take. Uh, why, why they couldn't do more recycling with those.
[speaker002:] Well, I was in, uh, Bizmart the other day, and, what I don't understand is there is recycled paper in there, and it cost more than regular paper.
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] And it was only, I think, uh, forty cents more, you know, fifty cents more, but,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] It upset me to realize that, hey, the recycling that they're going through the expense of recycling, but people aren't buying it, so the cost of it is higher.
[speaker001:] True. Yeah, I noticed that about things like I s-, I seen a lot of adds recently for organic fertilizers and, and lawn additives and that type of thing, but the cost is, is like, double or sometimes triple,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] what the regular things you, fertilizers and things you buy. So, in, in terms of that, it's, you know, and, for the environment it's, it's, there's a good reason to do it, but the cost is kind of prohibitive.
[speaker002:] Now, see that's recycling, you know, companies that do at least go into it, I'd like to see subsidy by the government or something, or tax-wise or something, heavily enough to where they could get their prices lower than regular.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] So that people would use this stuff re-, over again.
[speaker001:] Yeah, it's a good idea.
[speaker002:] It's like when he was saying, uh, which one was recyclable, which was reusable,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and the recycle ones are better to use, but lots of times you don't even see the signs on the bottles.
[speaker001:] Yeah, true.
[speaker002:] And if we're going to really do something, they ought to put that stuff out bigger for people to see it. I had to put my bifocals on to see it [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] That's hard when you're in a grocery store and you're short anyway.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] You have to get enough nerve to ask somebody to take something off the top shelf. You haven't got enough nerve to say well, put it back, it's not recyclable.
[speaker001:] I, I'd heard something stranger, talk about bottles the other day on, uh, on the radio station, I think it's K L T Y. They were talking about the, I think it's in Canada they're using, oh, recyclable milk jugs, plastic milk jugs,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] as a, a reinforcement for roads.
[speaker002:] Oh, really?
[speaker001:] For road repairs. And apparently they, they don't break down very easily, and,
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] they don't expand or, or contract when the weather changes, and [LAUGHTER] this is kind of an unusual use for that type of thing.
[speaker002:] You know they're, along that same line, they said they were using, um, what is, oh, I know, it was toilets. You know, the old ones?
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Smashing them up, because they're, that stuff there is great for, in road work.
[speaker001:] Huh.
[speaker002:] And I thought, well, that's good. And then I saw recycling on tires between, uh, well, hoses were being used,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and, uh, uh, soaker hoses, made out of old tires.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] What else, something else was made out of old tires, I was trying to remember what it was. Oh, I can't think of it now. But I was, I was trying to get my, uh, kids, you know, to see different things that we could come up with for recycling purposes.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And just anything, to, you know, recycle rather than keep throwing it away, but my biggest problem is, I take the bags out of the store, buy the bags to bring the back, and then I forget to bring them in the store.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] I'm forever going back out to my car to pick up my bags to bring them and take my garbage back out. I wish they'd really push this recycling bit, because I never realized, I really didn't realize how much stuff I actually throw away.
[speaker001:] Well, I think the, the more people are aware of it, the, the more they'll do. I think that's just the biggest problem is keeping it in, in front of the public so they understand how serious the problem is, and how important it is to do that.
[speaker002:] You know what I'd like to see a little more. I don't have any little tiny kids,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] but if they get the little tiny kids saving it now,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] in five years, when they get bigger, it'll work a little bit more, too.
[speaker001:] True.
[speaker002:] Because it's, we've all got to do it right now. I just, I really amazed to find out that, what is it, eighty per cent are filled now, in, in garbage fills. In five years we're supposed to be at max.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] I don't think I can keep my own garbage. I mean, I might not have that much, but I wouldn't,