Let's Talk Clermont

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Episode 17 of Let's Talk Clermont. We take a quick look at Ohio Senate Bill 4, which could reshape election oversight in the state, and share some updates from around the county. Then we talk with Hannah Lubbers, Director of the Adams-Clermont Solid Waste District, for a wide-ranging conversation about composting, waste audits, illegal dumping, recycling myths, and how everyday choices impact our environment.

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We've been living in it since so long.   All  

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Welcome to episode 17 of Let's Talk Claremont. My name is Patrick, and I'm your host. And thank you for tuning in, and thank you for everybody that's been supporting us on social media,   and just in general.   It's we've been having really, really good success,   and I appreciate   everybody. And if you're new, because we're getting new people coming in all the time,   we'll just tell you a little bit about what we're gonna do here.   We're gonna start with some news from around the county, or the state legislature,   and, then we're gonna move into our,   interview and we're gonna wrap everything up with some events around the county that you may wanna check out.  

So with that said, let's get right into the news and we'll start with the Ohio   legislature.   I came across a bill in the senate, senate bill four,   create election integrity unit and revise election law prosecution.   So, what this is gonna do, if it passes,   is it will centralize Ohio's election law election law enforcement   into a dedicated unit that has subpoena power. A unit will be called the election integrity unit and it will sit inside the secretary of state office.   In subpoena power, that just means that this this unit   can compel a person or organization to testify   under oath or produce documents or other evidence,   which honestly, I think it's interesting that there isn't an election,   you know, unit that already exists that can subpoena people. So,   it's interesting that they need to actually do this.  

So the the other things that senate bill four does is it will,   impose clear deadlines on prosecutors,   and it's gonna mandate public reporting.   And, overall, what what this bill seems to be doing is   kind of beefing up the investigative   muscle and transparency,   that,   to Ohio's election integrity efforts, which, you know, we all want free and fair elections. And so   I think this is probably a a good thing.   I believe it's made its way through the senate, so it'll probably be coming to the house soon and and the house will look at it and see whether or not they like it.   Moving on to New Richmond.  

New Richmond has a new police chief, Scott Knowl. He's a twenty three year veteran of the Blue Ash Police Department,   which seems like a great thing for New Richmond. So congratulations to Scott and congratulations   to New Richmond.   And that is all I really found for, for the news. It was pretty pretty light.   So that'll that'll bring us right to we are a value for value podcast. And what that means is that if you find value in what we're doing, we just ask that you send a little value in return in the form of time,   talent, and treasure.  

And it's it's important. You know, the podcast that I've   I've kind of   emulated   for this for this podcast is called No Agenda. They do a value for value model, and the money is good. You know, please send money if you can.   But the time and talent are equally as important, especially   because   I want to talk about the things that you want me to talk about. I want to talk to the people   that you want to hear from.   So,   you know, if you've got a news story in your town, if you've got if you know somebody, it could be your next door neighbor. If your neighbor's doing something interesting in the county,   drop us a line. Let us know. We   we are here to talk about Clermont County and the goings on in the county, and any any help you can give us is is much appreciated.  

And you can get in touch with us on our Facebook page, Let's Talk Clermont podcast.   We're on Instagram at let's talk clermont.   And you can email us,   info@let'stalkclaremont.com.   And, you know, if you just wanna drop a line and say hi, that's great.   You know, tell me what I'm doing wrong, tell me what I'm doing right.   We wanna hear from you. Also, please follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,   or whatever it is you use for podcasts.   Honestly, it'll just help you know when we come out with a new one. It'll give you a little alert on your phone, and then you can tune in and listen.   Alright. So for our interview today, we are talking to Hannah Lubbers, the director of the Adams Clermont Solid Waste District.  

We talk about a lot of stuff. We talk about composting,   which I took a stab at kind of unsuccessfully, but she's got some really good tips for for that if you wanna start composting.   We also talk about something called waste audits, for schools and businesses. I didn't even know this was a thing, but it's a service they offer and they'll go into schools and businesses and they'll,   kinda tell you, you know, how you can reduce your solid waste, which in some cases actually   winds up so, saving whatever   organization they go into, saving them a a bit of money.  

And we also talk about illegal dumps, which, you know, I know you can't just throw your garbage, but it, you know, garbage anywhere. But it it it is a problem. And she talks about some some of the things she's found in illegal dumps and   why you shouldn't do it.   Overall, you know, I'd I love talking with her, and it was a lot like John McManus from the Soil and Water District. She's another one of these people who are out in the county, and they're doing a lot of great work trying to keep it clean and beautiful   for future generations, but you really don't get to hear from people like Hannah very much. They're just kinda out there doing their thing.  

And it's it's really great to know that we have people in the county that are that are doing this work.   So with all that said, let's get into the interview, and I hope you enjoy it.   Alright.   So,   we'll start this like I start every one of them. Who are you and what do you do? Alright. My name is Hannah Lubers, and I'm the director for the Adams Claremont Solid Waste District.  

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So solid waste district   because what is that even? Right. A Solid Waste District is required by the state of Ohio. It's required of all the counties in the state. We're the only non contiguous Solid Waste District in the state of Ohio.   Are responsible the state of Ohio created solid waste districts   to address   uncertainties in landfill capacity. Okay. So there is a concern that we were creating too much waste and also the waste did not have any place to go, and that was in the eighties. That would be a a problem. Yeah. It there was a,   there was a famous garbage barge incident, and it was Really? Probably blown a little bit out of proportion, but there was a barge. Like on the Ohio River. No. And it wasn't even close to Ohio. It was it was a barge leaving New York City, and it was   they didn't have a destination for the garbage on the barge   that came from New York City. And so it was kind of floating out at sea for a while without a place to go. And so,   that prompted   states to look at legislation to make sure that we have capacity   for the garbage that we're generating. And also,   we need to figure out ways to reduce some of the garbage that we're creating. So those are basically the main goals of what a solid waste district does.  

And we   run off of a solid waste plan, and it's a plan that we're required to write by the state of Ohio. We have to update it every five years. It's a fifteen year plan.   And in that plan, we have to state how we're going to meet 10 different goals   that are required by the state of Ohio. And   first goal is to provide access to recycling for 80%   of your district   population. And our solid waste district, we used to follow that goal. Now we're following the second goal, which is the waste diversion goal, where you have to divert 25%   of the waste that you're generating.  



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And What do what do you mean by divert? That would mean recycling  

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or composting   Okay. Or even just reducing.   So   we are re   recycling, reducing, composting   38%   right now. So So you're well above the 25? Yeah. Yeah. So you feel that   goal. We have to survey   a lot. Yeah.   It would be nice if some of the recycling facilities were required to report data. Most of them do it.   So you have to bug all the Yeah. Garbage bins, essentially. Yeah. And, you know, make that call every year, and they're like, who are you and what do you want? I work for the government.  

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Which I'm sure is a call everybody likes to get.  

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Right. Most people most people are, pretty much happy to help us out,   and we ensure them that their information is confidential. Yeah. Yeah. We don't share it. We just share But they're not required Nope. To tell you anything. Not required.   Most people participate. So That's good. That's still gonna be kinda hard. Like, it seems odd that you're required to provide these numbers, but nobody's required to provide them to you. Right. That's a disconnect. And that's something that solid waste districts are continuously lobbying the state to get them to make that a requirement Yeah. Requiring us to report it. So just You should require to tell us. It would  

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save us a lot of work. Yeah. So So before because I've got tons of questions now.   But how did you even get into this?  

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I kinda fell into it a little, but I actually studied   water quality   and watersheds,   stream health.   I went to the University of Cincinnati and got a degree in environmental sciences, and then I got my batch or my master's degree,   studying headwater stream ecology. So I'm a biologist,   and I   started working for Clermont County   while I was still finishing up my graduate degree.   A position opened   sampling   doing water quality   sampling for the office of environmental quality.   But part of the job was also it was a joint department. Okay. So we did the solid waste district, and then we also had a watershed monitoring program. Just go around sample water and then Yes. Yeah. See what's in it. Right.   So I did that for   about   twelve I'd say twelve years I was in that position. And   then when my boss, who   was the director for the solid waste district, when he retired,   I stepped into to that role. Okay.  

And got started to get more interested. I always helped him out with all the projects and everything, but started   to it really peaked my interest   when we started working in the food waste and compost   realm because there's a little bit of biological sciences behind it. So   that really interested me. And then the more I got involved, the more I'm like, this is actually this is actually interesting. I could get into this. So,   there's it's   different every day. We have our hands in so many different projects,   that it just makes it for a really interesting job. We get to help people,   and we get to be creative in how we do that,  

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changes every day. It makes it interesting. I was, I'm assuming that it's a little bit more of a desk job than going out and sampling things. How was that transition?   Yeah. So still still still still acclimating?  

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Still acclimating.   But, you know, it it was funny, you know,   I might go out and dig through trash, and that's my good day in the field. Yeah. Pizza   pizza a good day or a bad day in the field. Pizza a good day in the office kinda thing, but I'm still happy to go dig through trash.   Yeah. That's that's my getting out in the field now.   So and we do do that. We we do trash audits for industries and schools and things. What does that mean?   So if if a company or school is interested in trying to divert more of their waste, if they wanna start recycling or food waste diversion program, or an industry maybe wants to figure out, if they can recycle more   or source   products differently to reduce their footprint.  

We can work with them to   study what they're disposing of, study their source products, see if we can find some alternatives.   And, typically, if you can start recycling a lot of your trash, you can reduce the frequency of your trash pickups and kind of cancel out the additional costs,   getting a recycling container. So we could I don't imagine. Waste audits. At a scale of, like, a school or a large  

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business. Reducing your waste even by a percentage helps you reduce cost? Yes. Yes. Majorly.  

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And and there's a need for things like cardboard and paper. So   we're still land filling quite a bit of that material, and there's really a need   for it. Especially, everyone's doing their online shopping now and getting cardboard boxes at the doorstep every day. We need that material. I feel like my job as a husband is pretty much just breaking down boxes from Amazon. That's that's There are what I do every Sunday. It's like thirty minutes. Videos online about that. Yeah. The wives throwing the boxes in the garage. Yeah. That, that their videos for a reason.  

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It's true. It's very, very true. It's and every time I'm out there cursing Mhmm. Boxes, cutting them up and breaking them down. Well, thank you for breaking them down. That is how we like them in the recycling   containers. Yes. I I break them all down.   I'll be honest, not so much of a function of it's just space. I mean Right. So many of them. Yeah.   So you talked about well, actually, before I ask you that question, what what does your day to day look like?  

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Every day is different.   We right now, because we're transitioning into a new building,   we're still kind of taking care of some   administrative things, I'd say, getting,   Yeah. But there there's quite a bit of   that we do that aren't quite as exciting. That's dumb. Yeah.   But we I I talk a lot on the phone Yeah. To   the different stakeholders,   townships, elected officials,   about what they what their needs are, in in the township and for their residents.  

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Talk to So you talk to I mean, because you had that,  

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Claremont and Adam. That's a huge Yeah. You must be on the phone We talking. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of elected officials in both those counties. Yeah. I used to before I had this job, I used to hear my old boss on the phone all the time and just think, oh, he's such a jack of dog over there, just gossiping or whatever. He's just on the phone gossiping on there. Nope. He does. Yeah. I gotta take that real real quick. So   Talking to residents, we residents call in. And, that's one of our programs is that if you have something in your house or your business and you don't know what to do with it, give us a call. We also have a website,   but, yeah, give us a call, and we'll tell you how to dispose of it or recycle it. So you talked about composting. Mhmm. I'd like to talk about composting. Okay.  



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I guess, can you just start with what it is? Sure. Composting  

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is a way of taking organic material and breaking it down   into and using biological processes, physical processes   to break it down to get it back, into an amendment to your soil. Mhmm. So   organic material can be broken down,   with bugs if you add it   in the right ratio, if it has the right moisture, the right heat content.   And by mixing it, if you have the right nitrogen to carbon ratio,   which sounds really complicated, but you can Brown stuff, green stuff. Yeah. Brown basically. Yeah. You can simplify it, brown stuff. You need one to three   of,   green stuff and brown stuff.  

And green stuff being nitrogen rich items like coffee grounds and food scraps, and brown stuff being more carbon rich items like paper or Cardboard boxes. Cardboard boxes.  

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Yeah. Dead leaves, things like that. We used to live in Felicity, and we tried composting.   It didn't work particularly well. Yeah. So what And it might have been your recipe. I well, I think it and  

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to be fair, I was also kinda lazy about it. That's my favorite way of composting. Yeah. What is lazy composting? Yep. So if somebody wanted to get into composting, how how would you advise them to start? Well, you can do it as you said. Like, you just have a pile in your backyard. It can be that easy and just throw your grass clippings and your   brush on there. If you're gonna put start putting food waste in there, you wanna cover it so you don't get animals and things and flies.   But we also have you can build your own   composting   bit.  

And then you just start putting the material in there. We have information on our website.   We have a,   that can tell you how to do it. But typically, you can just put that ratio of one to three materials in there.   Like I said, I like the lazy wave Yeah. Composting. They they technically call that cold composting. Okay. Where you're not out there mixing it up all the time. It just takes longer. It might take you a year or more to get finished compost if you're not out there turning it and monitoring the pile to see if it's getting hot.  

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Because that it doesn't need to get hot. Right? Yeah. Kill Yes. I guess seeds and things like that. Yeah. Well, it's like the mulch. I I think I can't remember company it is, maybe Evans. Mhmm. And you drive by that mulch pile in the winter, and it's just steaming. Yeah. Yeah. It catches some fire sometimes. Yeah. I I don't think people realize how hot those things can really Yeah. Is it a It's a 150   degrees is what is what you want it to get to. On a small scale, it I mean, is it a fire hazard at a small scale? Or No. Okay. No.  

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And on the smaller scale, it doesn't get hot enough to break down some of the like, you'll see, like, compost tableware and things like that. You can't put that stuff in there because it doesn't get hot enough Okay. On the small scale.   But the thing I like about having your composting in a container,   like the Earth Machine is the one that we sell. The thing I like about that is Is that one of those ones that rotate? No. No. Okay. Not a huge fan of the rotating ones. You know, I've heard mixed reviews. Why don't you like the rotating ones? Well, they're they're hard to rotate. Okay. They're heavy. Just physically. It's hard to do. Yeah. Physically hard to kinda handle. And also, they're not connected to the ground. And so, you know, you you get the bugs and things that you need in there eventually. But if you have one that's sitting on the ground, you get all the microorganisms   and macroorganisms.  

The bugs Yeah. Insects and,   bacteria   can come in there and mix in. And you need that stuff.   But the compost containers,   the composters,   they are like one cubic yard size. And that's   kind of what you need. You need that to be full to get it to be hot enough Gotcha. To generate the heat and the microbiological,   the thermophilic   organisms in there that will break down the compost.  

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So about how long does it take for,  

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you'd have compost that you can put in your garden? The fastest is probably about three months. And that's if you're   in there and you're mixing it maybe once every week or so   and monitoring it to make sure it gets up to temperature. Mhmm.   The con the composters that we use, they have a cover on them. So sometimes you have to add water. Okay. It can get a little dry. So you want it to be,   kind of like the consistency   of   a wrung out wet sponge. Okay.  

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Excuse me.  

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So, yeah, three months, but it typically takes me a year because I do the because you do the lazy way. Yeah. The the lazy way. A compost pile. It it was really just  

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a it just had stuff growing in it. Yeah. Well, it's supposed to have stuff growing in it. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I mean, it was, like, big bushes and things. Yeah. I know this is a nightmare. Yeah.  

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Yeah. Yeah. I get I get a lot of, like, spaghetti squash sprouts and Yeah. Wine.   And I'm like, well,   have gotten finished compost out of it, and it's very exciting Yeah. When you get get to spread out of it. I mean, it's beautiful. Mhmm. I mean, it's just nice and rich and Yeah. Is there any other uses for it besides gardens? Or   well, I have, like,   several compost piles, and I use my food scrap pile that I put on my garden beds. And then I have,   weed seeds on it, and we don't really ever harvest that. We just kind of let it break down and keep adding to it because you don't want to redistribute the weed seeds. Yeah.   So   you can use   compost   to make stormwater.  

I think they call them compost socks. This is more on a industrial scale. Like, you probably wouldn't do this Right. With your home compost. But Do companies around here do that? There are companies that they make these compost socks, and they're for stormwater management.   I mean, like, actual comp like, are there places in Clermont that are using these things? I'm not sure if if there are or not. I've just heard of them being marketed. Gotcha. Yeah.  

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So shifting from compost, because I'm sure there's more things you do than compost.   So you don't actually collect the garbage, and you you mentioned before that you work with garbage collection companies. How how else do you interplay with,  

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I guess, collection agencies, you call them? Sure. Yep. Yeah. Every solid waste district is different, and that's what the state   they had that vision.   Every population is gonna be different. The   district that is the best fit for their community.   So that was really good foresight that they had.   Smaller solid waste district because we don't have the revenue coming from the landfills that some of the larger solid waste districts have. So if there was a landfill, you would get revenue.   Yeah. Presumably from some sort of tax or something like that. And we do we do get revenue from haulers, waste haulers. That's how we're funded.   But, for example, Hamilton County has a landfill.  

They get,   tipping fees   for waste that comes from all of the surrounding counties, whoever's using that landfill. So they just have a higher opportunity   to get those fees, and we use a different fee mechanism. We use generation fees.   Collecting off a smaller population   size. And that's how the district is funded.   So we work with waste haulers and ensuring   that   there's   waste capacity   for the district for Claremont Adams County.   We've worked with waste haulers. There are two,   solid waste transfer facilities that are opening up in the district. And so   when they discussed their their plans to open those facilities,   we talked to them about, that   the   residents have that we cannot provide,   as a solid waste district. But for example, like, bulky item disposal, so mattresses,   couches, things like that. Can you   provide an option for the residents so that they can bring those items to you instead of   taking them all the way to Covington or a   or Georgetown to one of the landfills. It's really inconvenient.  

We were seeing illegal dumping on the side of the road of those types of items. And you almost can't blame people. Well, yeah. You know, do they have the time or the trailer or truck that's needed to take those items,  

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to call rain. And then plus, there's You need a special kind of facility for those large items.  

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You could just have a roll off dumpster, like a big 30 yard   of dumpster, but Where they truck them too. Like, is it just a normal landfill? They just go in the landfill. Okay. Yeah. There are some recycling programs for, like, mattresses,   but I'm not aware of any near near here, unfortunately.  

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Can you talk about landfill design at all?   A little bit. Okay. But I'm not an engineer. So Well, that's fair. I I think most people when they see landfills, they just think, oh, it's a big space of land where they dump a whole bunch of stuff. But it's a little more complicated than that. Right? Yes. Yes. There's a lot of regulations.  

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They they're they're lined.   They are   at least double lined,   and there are leachate   collection,  

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water that comes through.  

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Yeah. So a landfill, while it's active, it's open to the atmosphere. So if it's raining, it's gonna move through the material   that is exposed to the air, and it's going to pick up whatever   characteristics   of that waste and then it's going to travel down to the bottom of the landfill that's lined and then if it makes it   there's leachate collection systems on the inside of the   the cell, the the waste cells, what they call them.   And then if anything makes makes it through that liner that's on the bottom   of a landfill,   then they typically have,   collection systems   under that liner as   well. So kinda in between two different liners.  

And it it depends the design depends on, like, what type of landfill it is. Is it a hazardous waste landfill? Is it a construction and demolition debris   landfill, which would just be, you know, building materials? It's not as dirty   as garbage or municipal MSW is municipal solid waste landfill.   And that's the kind of landfill that is in Coleraine and in Georgetown.   And so there's there's less amount of rain that can get in there, but it still can get through. Yeah. Yeah. Typically, it's like a type  

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of cap that they put on there. What did you know what kind of life cycle a landfill has?  

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It depends on the size and how much it's being used.   That's one of the things that we have to study when we make our solid waste plan. Is is there enough landfill capacity?   And the one,   in coal rain, there's about sixty two years   Okay. Of capacity left. And   right now Yeah. I mean, that's a fair bit of years. I mean, I guess the clock still shorter, but they expanded that that Okay. Landfill in the past several years. So, you know, they may be able to expand and so that that life cycle kinda changes depending on if they grow or not. Is it hard to find landfill sites? Like, in sixty two years when they need to get a new one, is it tough to It's tougher to site a new landfill now than it used to be. So Yeah. Because yeah. There's And it used to be like we've got a whole bunch of land and Right. Just throw it there. That in their in their backyard. Yeah. So,   So I think that's what you see a lot of as existing landfills just expanding. How do they expand them? Do they just   They would have to have more space, like more surrounding land, and then they have a whole series of   petitions Yeah. Yeah. Permits that they have to get. I imagine it's it's a whole rigmarole.  



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Yeah. So when they when the landfill does,   and when it reaches its end of the end of its life and they cap it, what what happens then? Does it just They typically have long term monitoring. Okay. Yeah. So you can't just, like,   put houses on top of it and it's okay.   They Well, I guess, too, people I don't think people realize the stuff that they throw. I mean, there's chemicals. There's   even electronics, when you leach water through that, it'll pull out heavy metals. Right. I mean, there's a whole bunch of stuff in garbage. It's just not Yeah. Good. Yeah. There's a lot of stuff that we throw away. You know, a big one that they're talking about now is the PFAS,  

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the polyfluorinated   I'm probably butchering this. That's fine. But,   polyfluorinated   alkalic   alconated   whole class of compounds that are   in Teflon, for example. Oh, sure. Sure. That's how they were invented, and now they help waterproof a lot of things. They're in everything.   They're in   the little   padding that's in a pound of ground beef that you buy from the grocery store. Oh, really? Yeah. It's kind of like a water barrier there. So it's in everything. It's in carpet. It's in furniture.   So when that stuff goes to landfill, they can   and then it's it's   pretty   biopersistent,   and it's in all of our bloodstreams they've determined. So Yeah. Yeah. I've I've you hear all the time about what is a forever chemical. Yes. It's a forever chemical. Yeah. That's what they're talking about is the PFOS. I should have just said that instead of trying to use the power.  



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That's fair enough. Yeah.  

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Oh, I But that's, you know, that's one of the things we do is   if you have an old television,   you have options what to do with it. You can throw it in the landfill. Mhmm. But you can also recycle it. And there are   some materials that are in a old television that are,   heavy metals   that could it goes in the landfill. They could leach out.   Theoretically,   they have leachate treatment systems that would remove that before we get to any   waterway, but you can recycle it. And so there's options for recycling   those materials. You typically have to pay to recycle them depending on the size.   But any type of e waste, it's best to check   check our website.  

There are tons of options for recycling e waste. Almost all of them are free.  

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TVs are kind of the main one where you might have to pay. About. What makes it what makes a television a little bit more difficult than, like, a, I don't know, CD player or something? There's  

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there's more material in them, and there's less facilities that do that work. Okay.  

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So it's basically How do you recycle a television? I guess you have to, like, pull it apart. You have to pull it apart. Yeah. Yeah. What what what material do you get on the other end? Do you know?  

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I don't know.   Yeah. I don't know  

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all the details. No. That's fair enough. Yeah.   So you talked a little bit about illegal dumping. Mhmm.   Can you just describe what that is exactly? Yeah. A legal dumping would be,  

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I guess, kind of, what everyone might think of would be taking   your garbage and   just dumping it on the side of the road.   It could also look like, if you have an old couch,   dumping that on the side of the road. It could even look like   if you have an old couch and you dump it at one of our recycling drop offs.   What we typically encounter illegal dumping is in places where they might not have options for waste disposal.   And so we'll see that in Adams County,   where they might not have   as affordable options for curbside waste collection.   And so there might be a spot at the end of a drive or a road somewhere where they pull up their vehicle and dump the material off.  

And we have to spend quite a bit of money. We fund litter pickup services in both counties. Mhmm. And so I would encourage folks to just reach out if they have a question,   on how to dispose of their material, and   please don't dump it down a ravine if you're gonna do it. Yeah. Just just sit down the side of the road   if you have to do it. So you don't have to crawl down into a ravine. Don't dump it into the river.   But   Yeah. Yeah. That's illegal dumping. We have we have more of that in Adams County. There still are definitely some places in Clermont County though that   that get it. And littering is a little different. Yeah. Throwing stuff out your car window.  

That is still a big problem. We we have   we   help fund municipal Claremont County Municipal Court to send community service out to do roadside litter cleanup.   They clean up,   about 770   miles of roadway each year. That's a lot. Yeah. And they pick up 46 tons. That's a number from 2024.  

[00:32:41] Unknown:

46 tons of litter? Tons of litter. And that is that number never goes out. Of people throwing stuff out their window. Yeah. They throw it out the window. So don't throw things out your window. Yeah. Yeah. It's  

[00:32:52] Unknown:

if they throw it out the window, it winds up getting into our waterways.   If we don't pick it up,   It goes into the storm drain and goes into the river. So we really like it if you can just throw your trash away at the gas station next time you Yeah. Fill up or  

[00:33:07] Unknown:

something like that. So what are some of the the hazards you would encounter with the illegal dumping? Like, what what is the impact that that   actually has?  

[00:33:16] Unknown:

You you can have issues with runoff. Yeah. Because illegal dumping,   it typically contains everything that is considered municipal solid waste. So you can have heavy metals and items like that.   Illegal dumps, and that will all get rained on, and then leach into  

[00:33:34] Unknown:

But then you get mosquitoes.  

[00:33:36] Unknown:

Yeah. Mosquitoes. Yeah.  

[00:33:38] Unknown:

Yeah. So,  

[00:33:39] Unknown:

you mentioned that you had go out there and clean them up, and saw one of the One of them. One of them. We do well, we do litter cleanup events, and then we tried to clean up   part of an illegal dump.  

[00:33:51] Unknown:

So you have   a that doll head back there. Mhmm. It's for I guess everybody's listening.   It's kind of a   frankly, creepy kinda Yes. Banged up doll head. Are are there any other crazy things that you find in these illegal dumps? Oh, goodness.  

[00:34:08] Unknown:

Yeah. I mean,   a lot of old bottles that are kinda cool. Yeah.   We've found   people's addresses.  

[00:34:20] Unknown:

So Well, that's   follow the phone If you are going to illegal dump things Please Please put your mail with your address in it. Put your mail with your address in it so we can find you.  

[00:34:31] Unknown:

I gave my secret away.   We've   found   I know there was something crazy. I can't think of what it was.   Really old stuff is Yeah. Is just kind of cool to see,   like, the way they would advertise,   shampoo,   beverages and things like that back in, you know, 1945,   1930.  

[00:35:01] Unknown:

So people are throwing   away   bottles from 1940. Well, this was an old dump. Oh, okay. Cleaning. Okay.   So,   I guess, when you say I'm I'm thinking of people just, like, taking a trash bag and throwing it  

[00:35:14] Unknown:

into the woods. So are some of these illegal dumps huge? Like The one we were cleaning up was. Yeah. We did we did a study on one of our recycling drop offs because we were having contamination in that.   There's two different types of contamination in our recycling.   There's the Wish cycling, which is people that just they think it's recyclable, and they put it in there. So that's why they call it Wish cycling. Yeah.   And and then you have people that are just bad actors and they're using it as their garbage stand.   So going through those trash bags   was not fun.  

I was pregnant and going and picking out, like, dirty diapers with ashtrays inside of them. It was the most disgusting combo of Was it in the middle of the summer too? Yeah. Oh, boy.   Oh, boy. So I I was proud of myself for being able to stomach that. But,   bag of,   a lot of   marijuana   paraphernalia with receipts and names and,   like, their prescription.   So that was interesting. It was kind of like a new thing that you're seeing now Yeah. Yeah. Because the dispensaries are illegal. And you're just like, well, times are changing. Yeah. Trash is changing.   When somebody has their address in there, do you get a knock on their door like, hey. Stop doing this? We send them a letter, and sometimes we send a deputy with the letter. Okay. That's that stopped it. Yeah. I I imagine. So We haven't had to prosecute, but it is a legal one we could prosecute, and there are fines associated with it. What are the fines like? I mean, I imagine. They're about 200.  

I think it's 200 to $500   Yeah. For first offense. Yeah.   So, you also mentioned programs. Mhmm. Do you want to talk about some of the programs you guys have? Yeah. Yeah. We have a lot of programs available. So we offer the recycling drop off locations. That's one of our big.   We also have, help with tire disposal and special item or and they're,   help with tire disposal and special item or   And then we have a number of educational programs. We contract with Swell and Ward   to have their educator go out to schools and do a program.   Customized   to   whatever the audience may want. You know, they can do special requests.  

They want something on composting   or specifically to food waste diversion, or do they want something   specific to their church,   and how to recycle what they have at their church? We do   any sort of program like that.   We're doing more.   Hands on type.   Programming as well,   where we go into a school and we'll do a waste audit and help them figure out how they can,   reduce their footprint that way.   We can provide technical assistance to industry and businesses to help reduce their   foot. We have a pollution prevention internship that we just started where we work with an industry   to hire a summer intern and   cover 75%   of that cost. And the intern   does a project of the industry's choosing as long as it's centered around   pollution prevention,   then we'll we can fund that. Is that a new program? Competitive. Yeah. It's a newer program we started two, two or three years ago. What were some of the the past projects that you did? Millicron and Hamilton Safe. I used to work on Millicron. What did you guys do for Millicron? For Millicron, they did a waste,   they were trying to get   all of their waste metrics into a system, a waste tracking system, and then they were trying to,   get all of their vendors   in place for the   various recyclers that they'd be using. Okay. So it was a good program. And we'll probably do another project with them in the future. It's it is a competitive   project, so the industry has to submit an application and then we evaluate.  

So yeah.   And then one of   our   newest exciting programs is the,   Special Waste Recycling Center here in our offices, our new offices.   We are now taking household hazardous waste from residents.   So residents used to call us up and if they had old paint or   herbicides, pesticides,   fertilizer,   items like that, they would have to take you can't put that in the trash.   So they would take it to environmental enterprises in Cincinnati,   and that's not really convenient. Yeah. And the hours were inconvenient.   It's Tuesday, Wednesday, seven to 11AM.  

[00:39:41] Unknown:

That is very inconvenient. It's very inconvenient. It's a long drive. Very inconvenient hours. Yeah.  

[00:39:46] Unknown:

So we   we   opened up this office here, and we now are taking material from residents by appointment. So they call us up, tell us what they have, and then they could schedule a time to come drop it off. And then we accumulate it and take it to the responsible,  

[00:40:02] Unknown:

like, we take it to environmental enterprises for recycling. So what are what are some of the things that you I know you mentioned, like, fertilizer. What are some of the other things? Because people might not even realize that you shouldn't throw the stuff in the trash. Right. Automotive fluids are a big one, which  

[00:40:17] Unknown:

you can take those to the Fleet Garage and Clairemont, your name is.   But paint is a big one. That's probably the number one thing people have. We used to tell residents to dry it up and put it in the trash.   It was a day.   Well, now we're we're collecting it, and we take it to Matthew twenty five Ministries, and   they blend it and make new paint out of it. So it's really cool. Yeah.   They're recycling that.   They have, like, three different blend color blends that they make.   I didn't even know you could recycle paint. Yeah. It's it's really cool process that they have. They   have a big   device that kinda breaks the can open and gets the paint extracts the paint, and then they blend it on, and they make a pallet load of one specific color at a time, and then they send that off.  

And   we get a lot of WD-forty   flammable materials.   We've had mercury, you know, if you have a lot of people have those old mercury thermometers. Yeah. And they do. Lot of people have those old mercury thermometers. We need those.   We get a lot of bar oil for chainsaws. Sure. That's a big one. Pool chemicals. Yeah. Yeah.  

[00:41:22] Unknown:

I   I mentioned earlier that I used to work for an environmental   remediation company, and   they would do a lot of, like, fires, like, big like, the current fires in in California. Yeah. And people don't   I never I didn't realize this before I worked there that whenever you have something like that, all of those chemicals   I mean, it's a hazard. It's it's a legitimate   environmental and health hazard because it's all just   I mean, everything in your garage is now smoldering   and in the environment, and you have to go in and clean all that stuff up. Yeah. We take fire extinguishers too. Oh, nice. All fire extinguishers.   Well and then that just goes to I don't know.  

These things are so common, you know, like pesticides   and,   you know, things you clean your house with Yeah. That people don't realize that they're they're dangerous chemicals.  

[00:42:12] Unknown:

They're very dangerous chemicals. Yeah. We take batteries too. That's another thing that people  

[00:42:18] Unknown:

I did not know you could just like, double a's and things like that. So I should not be throwing those in the trash. So you can throw  

[00:42:26] Unknown:

standard alkaline batteries in the trash. Okay.   You can also recycle them. There's not really that much material to recover out of a standard alkaline battery.   And that would just be like your double a's, d's, things like that. But you do have to look because there are single use batteries that are lithium.   Okay. So you kind of have to look at the label and Is lithium the thing that's Lithium's the thing Lithium's the thing that you gotta watch for. So the any of the rechargeable batteries and then single use lithium   batteries.  

Laptop batteries, things like that. Yeah. Yeah. If you want to   go on our website, give us a call, figure out where you can take it. You can take them to Home   Depot.   We   take them to a Home Depot. A lot of the batteries. There may be a fee associated with some of those ones.   The   recycling   box because   and   2022.  

[00:43:23] Unknown:

And they did have their recycling facility burned down one year. Really? Yeah. Because of the battery. Because of the lithium batteries. Because of the battery. Well, that's the other thing I think people don't realize that lithium is very, very flammable. Yeah. Explosive. Yeah. If if you if it comes in contact with water Yeah. It's a problem. Yeah. And lithium fires, it's not like   burning wood. Like Right. Water doesn't even put them out. They're so hot. They just let them burn out. Yeah. Yeah. And then you see that problem with some Teslas whenever they get in accidents   because it's just a giant lithium battery on wheels. Yeah. You know, they'll burn so hot, and they try to put it out. I think I don't know if it's hot enough to actually   disassociate the hydrogen and oxygen.  

I don't know. Because then because then you have a bunch of oxygen, and then it's It's a yourself a bomb. Yeah.  

[00:44:07] Unknown:

Hopefully, that's not the case then.  

[00:44:10] Unknown:

Yeah. That probably didn't happen in Milwaukee. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But, no, lithium batteries are extremely flammable. Yeah. Yeah. So they they cause a big problem, especially  

[00:44:18] Unknown:

in the recycling because   the garbage   is kinda wet. So Yeah.   If something catches on fire, it's probably gonna go out. But in the recycling, it's paper. It's very dry. So So what are you you talked about wish cycling. Mhmm. What are  

[00:44:33] Unknown:

what what are things that you can definitely recycle, and what are some common things that you see people trying to recycle?  

[00:44:38] Unknown:

Yes. That can't be. There's a lot of a lot of contamination started happening when we transitioned from hand   sorting at the recycling facilities to automation.   So right now, it's very automated.   And so they can only take certain things that can be sorted in these mechanical automated facilities.   So Rumpke   recycles all of the material in the Clermont County,   part of our district. And then in Adams County, it's a different recycling facility.   But Rumpke   says to look at the shape of the container   or the item and not the numbers.   Okay. Those numbers on the bottom of the of the bottle Yeah. Yeah. Whatever Someone this bottle. With plastic,   it doesn't help.  

So it's best to look at the shape, and so Rumpke will take bottles and jugs. In terms of plastic, they'll take bottles,   tubs, and cups.   Okay. And so if they're gonna take cups, they don't take the solo cups. But,   if it has a lid, you can put the lid on the cup, and they'll take that. But they don't take the straws. Okay.  

[00:45:43] Unknown:

And then I didn't realize it all has to  

[00:45:45] Unknown:

so their machines sort by shape then? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Well, they they have optical   sorters. They their machines sort all kinds of different ways. They have robotics. They have optical sorters. They have Eddie,   currents that they use for cans to get cans off. For the,   paper and cardboard, they'll use, like, mechanical   screen systems. And that's where, like, plastic bags are a huge problem in recycling facilities because they tangle up they call them tanglers.   But,   they tangle up those discs that are in the recycling facilities.   A bag, but just dump it out when you are using the recycling   bin or the dumpster. The only exception to that well, there's two exceptions, actually. If you have shredded paper, you can put it in a clear,   just dump it in there, it's just gonna get it's not gonna get recycled. It's lost. And then there's a new program   for hard to recycle plastics called the Hefty Renew program.  

And that is an very specific and specially designed orange plastic bag that you have to buy at the grocery store.   It's made to withstand, like, the compactor.   And you can put things in there, like Styrofoam, and   Okay. Or cellophane from cereal boxes. You can put that in   there. And,   so that's the only other bag you can put in your recycling, curbside recycling or your recycling drop off.   Okay. And then other things, like,   if you get grocery   bags, you can take those two retailers for special recycling.   And there's a lot of, like, retail recycling items that you can you can't throw your take   them to one of these retail recyclers or to our offices here. Okay. We don't take plastic bags, but we take the batteries.  



[00:47:39] Unknown:

So outside of,   like recycling, if  

[00:47:45] Unknown:

amount of waste you have for whatever reason, what are some other ways you can do that? I'm glad you asked that question because that was something else I wanted to talk about. They used to say re reduce, reuse, recycle is the three r's, and now you're hearing the four r's and the with the new one being refuse.   Okay. So if you're out eating and you have carryout, maybe refuse the   container, the styrofoam container, bring your own container. It's hard to remember to do that. I know.   But maybe if you're   maybe you don't buy so many things off of Amazon and really think about it. You should talk to my wife.  

You should I'm gonna I'm gonna get your number, and then you can call my wife and tell her to stop buying so many things. I told I did tell my I told my husband and say, we have to think about whatever is in the car for a whole week before we are allowed to buy it. That's the rule.   Is it I might bring that home. Yeah. I I would say it's a good one because you do think you need it. And then if you just if you just think about it You sit on it for a week. You probably don't. I don't know if you can do without it for a week. Yeah. Yeah. You can probably do it. Do without it. And,   there are a lot of things   a lot of things now,   electronics and things are made   are places where you can figure out how to fix them.  

You know, we fixed our our coffee bean grinder Yeah. Ourselves. It does take a little more time, but if you don't have the time, they have re,   repair fairs.   Okay. Some places will have that. Is there are there any in Claremont? There aren't any in Claremont yet, but there was one recently in in Cincinnati.   So,   those are some things that will help to kinda get   get in this area, in this region   in the future.   But, yeah, just   refuse. Yeah. Maybe don't   I hate to say, you know, it does stimulate the economy. But just think about your your choices though when you're when you're making I mean, that's just a good  

[00:49:44] Unknown:

that's a good financial sense too. Yeah. You know? I mean,   not that   I don't think we buy a lot of useless things, but I'd and this is another question. Have you seen over the years   a a kind of an increase in   just   people throwing it like coffee grinders. Like, just   cheap stuff that people are throwing away. Yeah. Waste, yeah, waste generation has  

[00:50:07] Unknown:

kinda   exponentially increased.  

[00:50:10] Unknown:

Yeah. Yeah. And do you think that's just a function of   getting cheap goods in and then people you know, coffee grinder cost me $10, I might as well just throw it out and get it done. It's so much easier. And we're all busy. Yeah. To sit and make the time to fix it,  

[00:50:25] Unknown:

It's like, is that worth $20 of my time? Right.   It is hard.   So   Yeah. I think it's so easy just to buy things and then I think   the norm   is too, like, kids' birthday parties being a parent of young children. Now it's just like one of my pet peeves. It's going to birthday parties and all the plastic stuff. Wrapping play paper and boxes and Yeah. Yeah. It's it's all the the giveaway stuff, the little, like, cheap plastic stuff really kinda  

[00:50:55] Unknown:

We with   our kids   I mean, we   love everything and everybody that gives them gifts and things like that, but there's just   so much. Yeah. I mean, you've got   cousins and grandparents, and and and it it it's great. You know? Our kids love everything that they get, but   there's just a lot of it. And and a lot of it, we try to give away to, like, Saint Vincent de Paul or something, the stuff we don't use, but   lot of it just winds up in the trash. Mhmm. You know? Once they've played with it for that two days that they play with it. Well, yeah. Yeah. And they get older. Okay. You know? The the thing that my daughter was interested in when she's three, I mean, two years from then Mhmm. She's not really interested in that anymore.  

[00:51:36] Unknown:

But, yeah, donating is a   good a good thing to do. There's a lot of places that will take   a lot of the toys that are gently used and, daycares will take toys.   Yeah. You can donate them. I know sometimes it's hard, but,  

[00:51:54] Unknown:

but even, like, when you How old are your kids? I don't mean to They are six and four. Okay. Yeah. So so you're writing it too? Mhmm. Yeah.  

[00:52:01] Unknown:

There's a lot of stuff to manage. A lot of toys and things. Yeah.   I don't know where it all comes from. Yeah. We get a lot and we get we get a lot of it used.   Yes. Totally. Something you can do   instead of buying things new. Like, everyone else is going through the same thing you are, and they have toys that they   are getting rid of and purging. So Yeah. And there's   groups you can join on social media for   sharing items. I think they're called no buy groups. And Okay.   You can if you want something, put it on there, and sometimes somebody else will have it.   Borrow the stuff from your neighbors, borrow stuff from your friends and family.  

Another way you can kind of   limit   what you're generating. Yeah.  

[00:52:47] Unknown:

So outside of individuals,   if I own, like, a small business or something, what are some ways that I can reduce   my waste and maybe even cut trim down some cost?  

[00:53:15] Unknown:

Really? If you're generating enough of it. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. They can come on. And we can help you determine how much you have,   and if it's enough for a baler, something like that.   But in figuring out   what you're stocking and  

[00:53:31] Unknown:

where you're how you're sourcing it. So that would be because my my I guess my next question is you talked about waste audits a couple of times. What what goes into a waste audit? Like, if I was a small business, can I do a waste audit   myself or at least attempt to do one? You can. But we we would help you Okay. Walk you through that. Yeah. So what does it entail? I I guess just looking at your garbage and Yeah. Looking at what you're generating,  

[00:53:56] Unknown:

what you're what you're bringing in, like, how it's packaged potentially could even be part of it as well. Okay.  

[00:54:04] Unknown:

I don't know. I lost my question.   Oh, I'll think of it.   I think I've run out of questions.   Yeah.   Is there is there anything else,   that you'd like to talk about?  

[00:54:25] Unknown:

I think we covered everything. You asked a lot of great questions. Oh, good. I have my little list of things and And we hit them all? You yeah. We hit them all. Okay. Well, if that's the case,  

[00:54:35] Unknown:

I'll call it a success. K. And, well, thank you for coming on. And before we get off, if there's any programs you wanna talk about or plug or anything you wanna promote, just go ahead and do that. Okay. You can visit our website. It's a cswd.org,  

[00:54:51] Unknown:

and that stands for Adams Claremont Solid Waste District.   And it's a cswd.org.   There's a recycling tool on there, and it has the information to contact us if you have questions on waste recycling, reduction, disposal, anything like that. Any any of the things that we talked about today. Okay. Cool. Well, thank you so much.   Ma'am, that's it. Great. Thank you.  

[00:55:25] Unknown:

I hope you enjoyed that interview with Hannah, and thank you again, to Hannah for coming on the podcast. And like I've said about most of,   pretty sure, all of our guests,   we're gonna have her back on at some point just to update us on on what she's doing and and just talk solid waste.   So let's talk about the events going on around the county.   The Claremont County Fair is ongoing.   I believe Sunday or Saturday is the last chance we'll have to go.   I know I think my family's gonna try to get out there on Friday. I mean, you can't miss the county fair. It's the county fair. But   it is at the County Fair Fairgrounds in Clare in, Owensville. And, I mean, I'm sure everybody knows where the   fairgrounds are. So, check that out.  

Next up, we have Christmas in July at East Fork, July   from 9AM to 9PM   at the campground shelter in East Fork State Park.   And it's just a summer celebration for campers and visitors   at East Fork's Campground.   There will be some decorating contests, holiday themed games,   family fun, and a playful nod to the Christmas spirit.   There's no charge for registered camp campers, but, for any day visitors,   you should, check out the website in the park for participation   details.   Creek days at the park on July 25 from 1PM to 3PM   at Sycamore Park.  

And this is a naturalist led event for kids and adults to play in a creek and   discover some aquatic critters, look at fossils.   You know, the naturalists over at the park are very, very knowledgeable.   So it sounds like a fun day for you and your kids.   We have a Union Township summer concert, Tom the Torpedoes, a Tom Petty tribute band on July 25 at from, seven to 9PM   at the Union Township Civic Center Amphitheater.   This is all part of their free summer concert series. You'll obviously get to listen to Tom the Torpedoes,   which would be great especially if you like Tom Petty.  

And like with all of these, there's a farmer's market and food trucks, and that'll, kick off at 04:00PM.   So get there a little early, check out the farmer's market, get yourself a bite to eat, and then you can settle in for, some Tom Petty tunes.   The Madcap Puppets,   Monsters of Baseball.   I man,   this this one sounds so wild.   July 26, 10AM, Union Township Amphitheater,   and giant puppets are going to bring the history and tradition of baseball alive   through songs and stories. So   if you'd like or wanna know more about the history of baseball and   want to hear it told,   through giant monster puppets,   this is your event.  

Next up is Back the Heroes Rumble car show. This is gonna be on July 26 from 9AM to 3PM   at West Claremont Heights High School, and it is a charity car, truck, bike, and Jeep show that's going to honor fallen   first responders and military heroes. There'll be live music, there'll be food, family friendly activities, and all throughout the day.   And if you're a spectator and you just wanna go see some cool cars and and, you know, eat some food and do some cool event or activities,   it's free. And vehicle registration, that'll obviously cost you something,   but all the proceeds will go to benefit families of honorees.  

So check that out.   We have forged tea time and hike summer sun tea on July 26 from 11AM to noon at Clingman Park.   You go there and the naturalist is gonna help you identify some native plants and then you'll take those and you'll brew them into a sun tea,   which sounds pretty tasty.   It is free, but you do need to pre register on the park's website.   We have the East Fork State Park Trail Run, part of the dirt day series on July 27 at 08:30AM   in the South Beach area of East Fork State Park.   It is a 5.6 mile or a or a 10.8 mile wooded trail race and all experience levels are welcome. So even this could be your your first first,   event that you go to that starts you on your your fitness journey,   or you could be a an experienced   trail runner, whatever.  

They also have a trekker option, an early start option,   that starts at 8AM,   and it does cost $22.50   to register.   We have the America two fifty Bethel mural ribbon cutting,   July 30 at the Bethel Historical Society and Museum   from 02:00PM   to 03:00PM.   And they're gonna unveil the United in Service,   mural that that's   commemorating   the two hundred fiftieth anniversary of the United States.   It is open to the public and it's gonna include a ribbon cutting, some brief remarks,   and just a general celebration of local art and history.   And as a side note, I I recently it won't come out for a couple of weeks, but I recently interviewed a couple of ladies from the Bethel Historical Society Museum.  

And if you haven't checked that out, you should. It's a   I was actually blown away by the museum and everything they have there. And they they're just really committed committed people to, you know, they're committed to the history of Bethel. So as an   aside,   it's a it's a really great organization. I'd encourage anybody to check it out.   Next up, we have the Cool Critters Animal Show on July 30 from 11AM to 12PM   at the New Richmond Library.   And what's gonna happen is family and kids. You're gonna get an up close encounter with some amazing rescue animals.   It's gonna be fun. It's an educational show. So, you'll get to learn about all these animals,   which sounds pretty fun.  

We have another Union Township summer concert series. This is with the Whammies,   August 1 from seven to 9PM at the Union Township Civic Center Amphitheater.   Like all these, it's a free outdoor concert.   And the Whammies are a local band known for upbeat classic hits.   And just like the other ones, there will be a,   there'll be food trucks and a farmer's market   that will start around four. So get there a little early, get yourself a bite to eat, check out the farmer's market, and then enjoy the whammies.   We have yoga in the park on August 2,   9AM   at Sycamore Park.  

This is a free yoga class. It's a gentle yoga.   It's open to adults and teens of all skill levels. So, even if you don't know   anything about yoga and you just wanna, you know, for some reason, you wanna just start on August 2, go check out yoga in the park.   Heritage Crafts Sun Printing on August 2.   There are two sessions, one at 1PM   and one at 3PM.   Both are at Clingman Park. And you get to create your own cyanotype   prints   using the power of sun. So you get a special kind of paper. You arrange,   you know, some stuff you forged from from nature onto that,   light sensitive paper,   in a canvas tote bag. And then you expose them to the sun, and you make these really cool   blue and white prints.  

And you get to take home, the one of a kind printed tote bag that you make.   You do have to register and you can only register for one of the sessions.   But all ages are welcome.   If you have a young child though,   you should probably accompany them.   And last up, something for all the Swifties out there.   Taylorville,   a Taylor Swift tribute concert   on August 2 from five to 9PM,   the Miami Meadows Park.   Taylorville is an unofficial Taylor Swift tribute band from Saint Louis, Missouri.   It's gonna be a free outdoor concert in the park.   The preshow starts at 5PM with Taylor Swift trivia games, themed activities,   and food trucks.  

And then the live concert will start at 7PM   and   they're gonna perform all the pop mega hits,   in an energetic show for fans of all ages.   They tell you to bring a picnic basket or chairs and sing along to your favorite Taylor tunes Under the Summer Sky.   So, if you're a Swifty, I would check that out on August 2.   That's all we have for events and so we'll just talk about, one last time how we are a value for value podcast. And what that means is if you find value in what we're doing, we just ask for a little value in return in the form of time, talent,   or treasure.  

And like I've said before and in the beginning of the podcast,   treasure's great. Please send money if you can.   But time and talent are just as important, especially because, we wanna hear about the news stories in your towns, in your villages, and your   communities.   We want to talk about the things that are important to you. We wanna talk about the people that you wanna hear from.   So drop us a line and let us know.   We're on Facebook, Let's Talk Claremont podcast. We are on Instagram   at let's talk claremont,   and you can always email us   info@let'stalkclaremont.com.  

And please follow us,   on Spotify or Apple, podcasts   or wherever it is,   you get your podcast. That way, whenever we come out with a new show,   you will know and you can tune in.   So I haven't found a we're gonna, end the show like we always do, and I haven't found a better name for it, so we're just gonna call it an oliveism.   And this happened,   just the other day.   My wife is currently pregnant. We're gonna have a new addition to the Ventrella family coming up on August 1.   But yesterday,   and for anybody,   I don't know how prevalent this phenomenon is, but,   something called pregnancy brain   at least is is very   real for us at the Ventrella household, and that just means Katie   is   just forgetting a lot of things.  

And yesterday, she could not find her phone, and I was calling it and calling it. We were tearing the house apart.   And so I'm I'm walking through the house and suddenly behind me,   I hear a bunch of sniffing, like,   what in the world is going on? And I I turn around and there is Olive.   And I say, what are you what are you doing?   And she looks at me and she said, I'm smelling for phone germs.   She was not able to locate the phone by smelling,   for phone germs, but   I thought that was,   that was pretty hilarious.   So smelling for phone germs.  

Well, that is all we have for you today.   So thank you again for listening, and we will see you next time.