AND WELCOME BACK. PUTTING A FOCUS ON REDUCING, REUSING AND RECYCLING HERE IN GREATER CINCINNATI. HAMILTON COUNTY RESOURCE IS LAUNCHING A NEW EFFORT THIS SPRING TO ENCOURAGE ALL OF US TO START CARING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. EVEN A LITTLE MORE THAN YOU’RE ALREADY DOING. SO TODAY I’M JOINED BY HAMILTON COUNTY RESOURCE OUTREACH SPECIALIST ELISE EARHART. AND ELISE, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU. YOU KNOW, TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHEN IT COMES TO REALLY CUTTING DOWN ON WASTE. I’M SURE VIEWERS HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE THREE R’S REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE, BUT YOU GUYS ARE PROMOTING SOMETHING ELSE. TALK TO ME ABOUT THAT. YES. SO WE’RE REALLY SPECIFICALLY PROMOTING BACKYARD COMPOSTING THIS SPRING. AND WE ARE DOING THAT THROUGH A SERIES OF EIGHT DIFFERENT BACKYARD COMPOSTING SEMINARS. AND THERE ARE CURRENTLY THREE MORE FREE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO COME AND LEARN ABOUT BACKYARD COMPOSTING, WHY WE DO IT, WHAT’S THE POINT, AND HOW TO DO IT PROPERLY SO THAT THEY CAN REDUCE THEIR FOOD WASTE AND PUT THAT NUTRIENTS BACK INTO THE SOIL. I THINK IN MY HOUSE IT’S HARD ENOUGH. I FEEL LIKE WITH TEENAGERS TO SAY, OKAY, WE THIS IS RECYCLING, THIS IS THE REGULAR GARBAGE. SO I’M SURE THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT ARE SAYING, WE COMPOST MY OWN STUFF. HOW DIFFICULT IS THIS? AND WHAT SORT OF THINGS CAN YOU USE? OH MY GOSH, IT’S NOT DIFFICULT AT ALL. AND THAT’S ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVE TO EXPRESS TO PEOPLE AT THESE SEMINARS. WE DEBUNK SO MANY MYTHS AND SO MANY OF THE SCARY THINGS THAT PEOPLE WORRY ABOUT. LIKE, DOES IT SMELL AND ALL THIS STUFF? NO, THERE’S SO MANY EASY THINGS. YOU JUST THROW YOUR FRUIT AND VEGGIE SCRAPS AND SOME OF YOUR YARD TRIMMINGS INTO A PILE, ESSENTIALLY, OR A LITTLE BIN IN YOUR BACKYARD, AND IT WILL BREAK DOWN WITH THE HELP OF ALL THE LITTLE WORMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT FROM YOUR SOIL. AND IT WILL BREAK DOWN INTO NUTRIENTS FOR YOUR BACKYARD SOIL. HOW LONG ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? HOW LONG DOES THIS TAKE? THAT’S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. SO IT WILL TAKE USUALLY ABOUT THREE WEEKS TO REALLY GET SOMETHING. AND I SAY IT TYPICALLY TAKES UP TO THREE MONTHS TO ACTUALLY MAKE ENOUGH. IF YOU WANT TO SPREAD IT ON YOUR VEGGIE GARDEN OR YOUR FLOWER GARDEN IN YOUR BACKYARD. OKAY, INTERESTING. I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE ALSO HOSTING THE 2026 BACKYARD COMPOSTING SEMINAR SERIES. I THINK IT’S CALLED IT’S ALL FREE THIS SPRING. HOW CAN PEOPLE GET INVOLVED? WHAT DO THEY NEED TO DO? ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS THEY COULD JUST SHOW UP, BUT BETTER YET, SIGN UP ON HAMILTON COUNTY RESOURCE.ORG AND ENSURE THAT YOU CAN GET SOME OF THE FREEBIES THAT WE WILL BE OFFERING. SO WE HAVE A FOOD SCRAP KITCHEN COLLECTOR, AND WE HAVE SOME BOOKLETS AND MAGNETS FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE. BUT IF YOU WANT TO SIGN UP, WE’D LOVE TO HAVE YOU SIGN UP AND BRING A FRIEND. THEY’RE ALL FREE. AND TOMORROW NIGHT IT’S AT THE DEER PARK LIBRARY. SO I KNOW YOU HAVE ANOTHER BIG EVENT COMING UP THIS WEEKEND AIMED AT FIXING BROKEN ITEMS RATHER THAN, OF COURSE, JUST THROWING THEM OUT OR GETTING SOMETHING NEW. WHAT’S THAT ALL ABOUT? IT’S ONE OF MY FAVORITE EVENTS OF THE YEAR. REPAIR FAIR AT ON SATURDAY FROM 10 A.M. TO 2 P.M. SATURDAY, MAY 9TH AT THE DOWNTOWN MAIN LIBRARY. AND WE ESSENTIALLY HAVE A GROUP OF WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE REALLY GOOD AT FIXING THINGS AND TINKERING AROUND. MAYBE THEY ARE AN EXPERT IN JEWELRY OR SEWING OR ELECTRONICS, AND ANYBODY CAN SHOW UP AND BRING THEIR ITEMS THAT THEY CAN BRING IN. THEY’RE PORTABLE ENOUGH TO BRING INTO THE LIBRARY, AND THEY CAN HAVE PEOPLE HELP THEM LEARN HOW TO FIX THE ITEMS AND MAYBE GIVE THEM A SECOND LIFE. SO IF YOU’VE GOT SOMETHING YOU’VE BEEN HOLDING ON TO AT HOME AND YOU JUST DON’T WANT TO GET RID OF IT, THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SEE IF YOU CAN FIX IT. OKAY? AT LEAST YOU MAKE IT SEEM SO EASY. SO I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE TODAY BECAUSE I DO THINK SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE YOU’RE BUSY AND IT’S LIKE, ONE MORE THING TO DO. YES. AND AT THE SAME TIME, WE DO WANT TO PRESERVE, YOU KNOW, THE ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR KIDS AND OUR GRANDKIDS AND SO ON. SO ELISE, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BREAKING IT DOWN FOR US. YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND ALL OF THIS INFORMATION ON THE HAMILTON COUNTY RESOURCE, BUT WE’LL ALSO LINK YOU TO IT ON OUR OUR WEBSITE PAGE, WLWT.COM. AND HERE AGAIN, JUST A QUICK LOOK AT WHAT’S GOING ON THIS SATURDAY FROM 10 TO 2. ELISE WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT THE RESOURCE THAT THEY’RE HOSTING THAT REPAIR FAIR. AGAIN, IT’S