[speaker001:] the topic is how we can how how what is our
[speaker002:] community doing on recycling
[speaker001:] and how and do we have any ideas to encourage more recycling
[speaker002:] yeah sounds like an exciting one
[speaker001:] well it is to me uh because we're our particular little household is hot and heavy we have our glass bin our tin bin and uh our uh papers that we accumulate and recycle and
[speaker002:] where where do you live
[speaker001:] Plano Texas
[speaker002:] do they have the uh collection points where you can oh okay
[speaker001:] yes they certainly do they certainly do
[speaker002:] yes we're we're really behind the times here about all we've got is paper recycling and aluminum from cans uh North Carolina
[speaker001:] where are you oh I see
[speaker002:] um I buy I keep my newspapers and take those down and aluminum cans I keep those if I ever get them I don't drink Cokes or anything like that so I don't don't usually get any aluminum cans but that's that's all they've got set up they've got a uh central collection point at the JC Park and uh that's it
[speaker001:] well our libraries and then the uh Wal-Mart stores have the bins in back of them and when you recycle glass
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] that seems to make a lot of difference and you have the colored glass and the clear glass and the paper and the tin cans
[speaker002:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker001:] so when you get all of that going it is it it occupies a space in your garage but you very quickly get use to it and we do not
[speaker002:] yeah and you and you and you also get rid of it so
[speaker001:] sure well you know we haul it off it once in a while and we also do not bag our clippings on our lawns we let the wind blow it off we do not fill
[speaker002:] oh yeah yeah that's why I just let it sit there and let it uh let it uh rot away and it's a good fertilizer
[speaker001:] well this is Texas it doesn't set it blows
[speaker002:] oh that's right
[speaker001:] give
[speaker002:] surprised you even have grass there
[speaker001:] lots of grass give it twenty four hours and the whole things gone there's no problem someone else is worrying about and we have somebody else's but uh the problem that bothers me more uh you know I think the communities will do as good as they are supported by their local government you know
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] if there's if there's enough need and they have a responsive local city management
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] it will happen what upsets me uh there was an article and I'm sorry I was reading a book at the same time it was on our Texas beaches
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and they are saying our Texas beaches are suppose to be the dirtiest beaches in the United States
[speaker002:] uh
[speaker001:] and it's not because of litter it's because of boats
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] the if you could think of the basin the Texas gulf coast as a large swirling
[speaker002:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker001:] vacuum things that are thrown from ships swirl in and swirl in to our beaches
[speaker002:] um-hum yeah exactly
[speaker001:] and it kills some of our animals there's there's a professor down there that has Texas A and M has a nice size facility
[speaker002:] hum
[speaker001:] at Port Aransas
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and he's got all these collection of animals that he's frozen that were killed you know by plastic
[speaker002:] hum
[speaker001:] it's horrible it's a gross collection
[speaker002:] yeah I've seen I've seen pictures of uh seals that have gotten uh gotten their necks stuck in those uh plastic uh
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] oh what do you call them they hold six packs together those plastic
[speaker001:] yes whatever those things nasty things are
[speaker002:] yeah because they they're they're playful and they think this is fun we'll stick our head through here and they get their head stuck in there and they can't get out and they strangle
[speaker001:] that's right or they starve to death because they can't swallow
[speaker002:] and I or they starve because they can't eat
[speaker001:] or drowned
[speaker002:] yeah I mean it's that's yeah that's that's terrible I mean I like seals
[speaker001:] yeah terrific well they showed one baby turtle that had been caught up in some uh plastic
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and it starved to death it couldn't it couldn't swallow it was pitiful
[speaker002:] yeah yeah that's what it bothers me the same thing about uh netting tuna they they get so many dolphins and
[speaker001:] well they're suppose to have be working towards around that
[speaker002:] and I well they keep saying that but I'll tell you I I saw a program not too many months ago I think it was on Arts and Entertainment or Discovery one of the two and they're talking about all these people who are making uh all these boast that you know we're dolphin free and all that kind of stuff and they just they showed them to be absolute liars
[speaker001:] uh-huh oh really
[speaker002:] yeah because you know people like Starkist they don't go out there and catch the fish they buy the fish from other people
[speaker001:] sure so
[speaker002:] and and and all these people do is tell them oh no no no no we have we have these safety nets now
[speaker001:] trust us it's our nets everything's great go back sleep and don't worry
[speaker002:] sure that's right trust us yeah they had some they had some uh uh undercover film of these people and they they netted oh I mean dozens of dolphins
[speaker001:] oh
[speaker002:] and they killed probably half of them
[speaker001:] oh that's just sickening
[speaker002:] yeah it is I like dolphins too
[speaker001:] well and the other thing uh we have an endangered species turtle a Ridley's turtle
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] that's on the Texas Gulf Coast
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and there's our shrimp nets are suppose to be turtle proof so the turtles can swim through
[speaker002:] um right right
[speaker001:] huge fight going on uh the shrimpers just say great you want us to put a big hole in our nets is that what you want us to do this makes sense to us we're starving to death anyway and you want us to put a hole in our nets I can see their point I I guess if my family were terribly hungry I wouldn't be as humanistic as I am because I don't have that problem
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] so it's it's really a hard hard issue to say what's right and what's not
[speaker002:] well I think what they need to do is to come up with a better way of shrimp farming
[speaker001:] oh this is
[speaker002:] I m ean there's there's I I don't see any reason why they can't uh I mean there's a lot of places Japan for instance have shrimp farms I mean they they they raise shrimp
[speaker001:] like they raise catfish now
[speaker002:] just just like they raise anything else and and you can do it and the uh the the collection is very easy and you don't go around killing everything else that happens to be in the area
[speaker001:] well part of the problem there is so many of the fishermen work for so little money
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] we have a lot of Vietnamese
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] fisher people
[speaker002:] right right
[speaker001:] and yet they support their whole family on less than than I'd had for lunch
[speaker002:] on fishing yeah um-hum
[speaker001:] anyway
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and of course they don't have the money to make an investment like that
[speaker002:] yeah well it's
[speaker001:] and it it all goes back to the government spending enough money high enough priorities on things like that
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] that they it would have to be government owned or supported financed if not controlled
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] there because the financing simply isn't there because it's one of those cottage industries that uh
[speaker002:] yeah and
[speaker001:] the very poor keep going but can't do anything to change
[speaker002:] yeah is right yeah they're they're they're in it for a matter of survival not
[speaker001:] sure
[speaker002:] not environmentalist
[speaker001:] well and you know they could they could be terribly sorry they're killing the turtles you know
[speaker002:] oh yeah they they probably are I
[speaker001:] probably are probably are
[speaker002:] of course I don't understand why they don't if they're going to kill them they might as well eat the turtles too and
[speaker001:] well they may do it
[speaker002:] they probably do I mean
[speaker001:] whether they like it or not they may do it you know
[speaker002:] oh turtle is good
[speaker001:] yeah that's correct turtle is very good that's the other thing wrong with the poor turtles
[speaker002:] yeah yeah yeah I had turtle when I was in Vietnam didn't know it was turtle at the time because I wouldn't have eaten it but
[speaker001:] well in my unreformed days I have had turtle soup in New Orleans and I can tell you it's fabulous
[speaker002:] yeah I
[speaker001:] but of course a boot would taste fabulous when they finish with it
[speaker002:] yeah that's true
[speaker001:] so it's no telling what the turtle really taste like
[speaker002:] well hopefully it's real turtle too
[speaker001:] well it maybe it wasn't you know who who knows what I had but it was fabulous
[speaker002:] yeah you well that's that's the other thing I mean you never know what they're putting in there you know oh this is turtle soup you know okay
[speaker001:] great sure it is
[speaker002:] sure right
[speaker001:] charge fifteen keep moving
[speaker002:] yeah why not give it a fancy name and put a high price tag on it
[speaker001:] as long as it's French
[speaker002:] it's probably it's probably Campbells or something
[speaker001:] oh dear well I don't have any my big solutions all go back to elect politicians that are more sensitive because I think we can't do it ourselves
[speaker002:] no I I no no I don't think we will because you need you need some kind of organization for it and
[speaker001:] you need clout
[speaker002:] yeah and the problem the problem I mean we've got all these environmental organizations but they're all pulling in different directions and it's the the end results is is just a nullity nobody's getting anything done and and I think there needs to be a concerted effort you know say okay here's a problem we're going to do this and you put all your resources here and we're going to do this and you put your resources here something like that I mean just
[speaker001:] it'd be great but the problem with that is you have all of these little branches off the main problem and everyone is very concerned about one thing you know like the woman down the tip of Texas that that calls her turtles and kisses everyone of them everyday she's terribly interested in her turtles she could care less about shrimp
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and on she goes you just kind of think everybody's got such a splintered interest
[speaker002:] yeah well that's what that's what I mean about all these groups they're so
[speaker001:] yeah that's exactly it
[speaker002:] yeah they're so uh
[speaker001:] and there's no way to to to make one group more interested or sensitive to the other group but they can be but they're not sensitive on the bottom line which means money
[speaker002:] they yeah I mean would I mean you'd ideally they would all combine together and pool there resources and and and then they could have their agenda for all these different problems and come up with solutions but I mean you know work at it as an organization not as a little group just they just don't get anywhere
[speaker001:] that's why I keep going back to the politicians that it has to have some focal spot
[speaker002:] that's right that's right
[speaker001:] we we need uh we need an environmental Ralph Nader type
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] which
[speaker002:] exactly yeah somebody to pull the whole thing together to make it work
[speaker001:] gee right
[speaker002:] I mean we we've been at this for for so many years now and just and just and nothing's happening