Podcasts about hdpe

To watch a video version of this podcast, click here: https://youtu.be/B4lgieKGvtIIn this episode of the Structure Talk Podcast, hosts Reuben Saltzman and Tessa Murry welcome back Noah Gavic from Brothers Underground to discuss various sewer types and cleaning techniques. Noah shares insights on the most common pipe types, including cast iron and clay tile, and explains the importance of proper cleaning methods like chain cleaning and jetting. They cover the risks associated with DIY drain cleaning and the costs of hiring professionals for sewer maintenance. In this conversation, the speakers delve into the complexities of sewer lines, discussing the various types of pipes used in plumbing, their historical context, and the responsibilities of homeowners regarding shared sewer lines. They explore the implications of different materials, such as cement, asbestos, and Orangeburg, and the modern alternatives like PVC and HDPE. They also discuss the lifespan of these materials and the importance of proper installation to avoid costly repairs and various aspects of sewer line repairs, focusing on the importance of proper techniques, materials, and the need for homeowners to hire knowledgeable professionals. They delve into the geographic variations in sewer materials, the process of accessing and repairing sewer lines, and the different methods and technologies used in pipe lining. They emphasize the significance of understanding the complexities of sewer repairs and the potential pitfalls of hiring inexperienced contractors.Here's the  link to Noah Gavic's company: https://www.brosunderground.com/Check this link to Tessa's website: https://www.yourhousecoach.com/TakeawaysNoah Gavic has 21 years of experience in the plumbing industry.Brothers Underground focuses on educating customers about their sewer options.Cast iron and clay tile are the two most common sewer pipe types.Roots intrude into pipes primarily through leaks, not through solid walls.Chain cleaning is a high-speed, low-torque method for cleaning pipes.Improper chain cleaning can damage pipes, leading to costly repairs.Jetter machines use high-pressure water to clean pipes without damaging them.Homeowners should be cautious about DIY drain cleaning due to potential risks.Professional drain cleaning costs can range from $300 to $2400 depending on the service.Knowing the length of a sewer line is crucial for effective cleaning. Access to sewer lines can be forgotten or lost.Sewer line lengths can vary significantly based on connections.Homeowners share responsibility for shared sewer lines.Historical codes have changed regarding sewer installations.Cement asbestos pipes are common in homes built in the 50s and 60s.Orangeburg pipes are known for their poor durability.PVC is the most common pipe used today, but it has limitations.HDPE is flexible and resistant to breaking under pressure.Proper installation is crucial to avoid future plumbing issues.Lining pipes can extend their lifespan and prevent leaks. Proper sewer line repairs require the right materials and techniques.Geographic variations affect the types of materials used in sewer systems.Accessing sewer lines can be done through clean-out access points.The lining process involves inserting a liner that hardens in place.Different methods exist for lining pipes, including pull-in-place and inversion techniques.Curing methods for liners can vary, including steam and UV light.Choosing the right materials is crucial for effective repairs.Homeowners should be cautious when hiring contractors for sewer repairs.Lifetime warranties on repairs may not be reliable.

Transcript [music] Welcome to Food Safety in a Minute. The Cascadia Subduction Zone runs off our coast from British Columbia to northern California. We're overdue for a major earthquake that could disrupt water supplies for weeks, even months. Storing at least one gallon of water per day, per person and pet, for a minimum of 14 days is essential. Because that much water is heavy (116 pounds), it's good to choose smaller containers for storage. For instance, soda bottles with screw-on lids or food-grade, heavy-duty plastic containers with recycling symbols PETE and HDPE suitable for camping. Avoid milk jugs, they're made from biodegradable plastic and may leak. For more tips on building a safe, drinkable water supply, check out Oregon State University Extension's online guide: Survival Basics: Water. I'm Susie Craig from Washington State University Extension. [music] Resources Black, Lynette, G. Hyde, L. Kraemer, C. Sánchez-Frank. Survival Basics: Water. Tips for securing a safe, drinkable supply. Oregon State University Extension. https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pub/em-9285-survival-basics-water. Emergency Management Division – Washington – Safeguarding Lives and Property. Prepare in a Year. https://mil.wa.gov/personal. United States Department of Homeland Security. Suggested Emergency Food Supplies. https://www.ready.gov/food.

*Key fundamental views for today*STRATEGY| EGX30 should find support in potential US-China trade deal/India-Pakistan ceasefire/EG sovereign CDS compressionMACRO| There is room for 100-200 bps policy rate cut on 22 May post April inflation printMACRO| USD/EGP 2025 outlook remains stable at 51-53 amid strong signs of commitment to IMF programARCC| Coal and sales mix to drive GPM expansion in 2025SKPC| 1Q-25 results are almost flat y/y and 2Q results will likely remain so on flat HDPE. Time to accumulate as stock trades at low end of historic multiple

Allen and Joel discuss Nylacast's article in PES Wind Magazine about corrosion solutions in offshore wind and Vattenfall's major investment in Germany's largest offshore wind farm. They also talk about MIT's strategic alliance with GE Vernova and the ethical concerns around AI in engineering. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Speaker: [00:00:00] You are listening to the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast brought to you by build turbines.com. Learn, train, and be a part of the Clean Energy Revolution. Visit build turbines.com today. Now here's your hosts, Allen Hall, Joel Saxum, Phil Totaro, and Rosemary Barnes. Allen Hall: If you checked your mailbox or checked online, the new PES Wind magazine is out and it is full of great content this quarter. There's a very interesting article because we've been talking a lot about offshore wind and some of the problems with offshore wind as one of them is corrosion. Just betw between us engineers, it comes up quite a bit. Like, why are we making things outta steel that you don't need to make outta steel, why you're not making them out of plastic? And that's what, uh, the people at, uh, Nylacast engineer products are doing, um, on some hang off clamps, Joel, uh, which are traditionally really cheap clamps that are made outta steel and rust like [00:01:00] crazy. Joel Saxum: Yeah. You know, from my oil and gas offshore background, that was one of the things that was always a pain in the butt. IIRM contracts, as they call 'em, offshore inspection, repair, and maintenance. There's so much focus on coatings, paint coatings, paint coatings, and it's a special coating, and it's this, and you can only apply it during this, and everything has to be painted. And if you can't allow rust to start anywhere on an offshore facility, it's in a high corrosion environment, right? You have salt water, salt spray temperatures, it's always kind of wet. It's a marine environment. And so erosion moves very fast, right? So in the, in the oil and gas world, they started creating some things out of like HDPE, which is high density, polyethylene, plastic. Um, it's even so dense. You can mill it. It's really cool stuff. But that's what, um, the PO the kind of Nylacast engineered products is working with some of these plastic products to replace some of those components in offshore wind turbines that are a pain in the butt to maintain. So when we talk about these hang off clamps. [00:02:00] They grab the cables and other things and they, and they hold them in place in the turbine as need be. If those are made outta steel and have a coating on 'em, and you get a little bit of vibration and that coating starts to wear away or starts to get a little bit of rust, you've got a huge problem. You've gotta take the cables out, you gotta take the things off, you've gotta replace 'em. You gotta either replace them or you gotta grind on 'em and repaint them. It is a nightmare. So they're, what they're doing with these, um, uh, hang off clamps that are, you know, basically plastic instead of metallic. Or a plastic type instead of metallic is there, they're removing that need for IRM contracts in the future. Allen Hall: I think it's great. It makes a ton of sense. And I'm surprised you haven't seen more of this because, uh, nylon and and derivatives in nylon are easily recyclable. It does fit all the things that wind energy is looking for. It doesn't. Rust recyclable, easy, lightweight, simple. We need to be moving this direction. So if you haven't checked out PES Wind, you go to PS wind.

GHiT 0680:  What's Been Going On We have had quite the offseason this year and are looking forward to our eighth season.  What tragedies have befallen our race cars.  Why did we do that to our street cars/HDPE cars.  Why is that bear limping?  What races will we be at?  All this, and more.   Same Bat time.  Same Bat channel. A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/GHiTSeason8Prep We hope you enjoy this episode! If you would like to help grow our podcast and high-performance driving and racing: You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, YouTube, etc. Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating, that we would appreciate very much.  Even better, a podcast review would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving and we would appreciate it. Best regards, Vicki, Jennifer, Ben, Alan, Jeremy, and Bill Hosts of the Garage Heroes in Training Podcast and Garage Heroes in Training racing team drivers Money saving tips: 1)  Enter code "GHIT" for a 10% discount code to all our listeners during the checkout process at https://candelaria-racing.com/ for a Sentinel system to capture and broadcast live video and telemetry. 2)  Enter the code “ghitlikesapex!” when you order and Apex Pro system from https://apextrackcoach.com/ and you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. 3)  Need a fix of some Garage Heroes in Training swag for unknown reasons:  https://garage-heroes-in-training.myspreadshop.com/ 4)  Want to show you support to help keep our podcast going?  Join our Patreon at:  patreon.com/GarageHeroesinTraining 

About the Guest(s):Adam Peek is an expert in the packaging industry with over 14 years of experience. He specializes in labels, folding cartons, and RFID technology. Currently residing in West Jordan, Utah, Adam has a strong footprint in the labeling sector, working with a variety of companies to optimize their product packaging solutions. His deep understanding of the complexities of labeling and packaging positions him as a leading voice in sustainable packaging practices and innovations within the industry.Episode Summary:In this informative episode of the Packaging Today show, Adam Peek tackles an essential and often overlooked aspect of the packaging world: labels. While his co-hosts Cory and Evelio are attending Paris Packaging Week, Adam broadcasts solo from his home base in Utah. He provides an in-depth analysis of why labels are, in fact, a crucial component of packaging—contrary to some industry beliefs. Adam delves into the role labels play in product identification, compliance, and consumer information, asserting that labels are vital not only for brand identity but for the overall functionality and recyclability of packaging.Adam emphasizes the importance of selecting the right labels and adhesives, particularly concerning sustainability and recyclability. He discusses the declining PET resin prices and how the packaging industry must adapt to ensure the economic feasibility of recycling efforts. Adam dissects the complexities of label application, adhesive types, and the dire environmental implications of mismatched materials. The conversation underscores the transition in global packaging towards enhanced recyclability, highlighting how both consumers and companies can contribute to better recycling outcomes by understanding and improving label choices.Key Takeaways:* Labels are Essential Packaging: Labels are not merely decorative; they are essential for product identification, compliance, and consumer engagement, making them an integral part of the packaging.* Adhesive Selection is Crucial: The choice of adhesive on labels significantly impacts the recyclability of packaging, with the potential to either facilitate or hinder the recycling process.* Recyclability Challenges: PET and HDPE containers face distinct challenges regarding labels, and improper label choices can render materials unrecyclable, affecting recyclability economics.* Sustainable Practices: Understanding the complete lifecycle of packaging, including labeling, is necessary for developing sustainable solutions in the industry.* Technological Transition: Upcoming changes like the shift from UPC codes to QR codes (Sunrise 2027) signify evolving labeling technologies and their functionalities.Notable Quotes:* "Labels are packaging. They're not something separate from the realm of packaging, they are integral to it."* "The adhesive is not only about getting that label to stick, but about how we can navigate the challenges posed by recycling."* “There's no perfect solution for packaging. The perfect solution is really to have nothing, but that's not practical."* "The shift from the traditional UPC to QR codes by 2027 will transform how consumers and registers interact with packaging."* "It's not just the label material that needs attention; the adhesive is critically important when it comes to the recycling ecosystem."Resources:* SpecRight* Trayak* GS1 Website for information on Sunrise 2027* Consortium for Waste Circularity* Packaging Today Podcast: Search on Apple and Spotify for episodesDiscover more about the intricacies of packaging design and sustainability by tuning into this episode. Stay updated with the latest trends in the packaging industry, and anticipate insightful discussions from Packaging Today in future episodes. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.packagingisawesome.com

Join Peter Dyke and Richard Kolasa (WL Plastics) as they explore the world of HDPE in austere, marine environments. They're joined by special guest Adrian Hannam (GreatPacific Consulting) an expert in marine infrastructure. Together, they dive into how HDPE's durability, flexibility and corrosion resistance make it ideal for underwater pipelines and other marine applications. Hear real-world success stories and innovative solutions. This episode is perfect for engineers, contractors and anyone curious about HDPE's capabilities in challenging aquatic conditions!

Traditional concrete solutions have long dominated the underground infrastructure industry, but growing environmental concerns and the need for innovation are driving change. In this episode of Fisher German Talks, Sam Parton is joined by Yannick Joubeaux, CEO of Overpipe, to discuss how their high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plates and mesh are transforming asset protection.Yannick shares the origins of Overpipe, born from a devastating pipeline accident in Belgium in 2004, which led to a demand for safer, more efficient alternatives. Over four years, Overpipe developed lightweight, customisable plates that offer superior protection and environmental benefits compared to concrete slabs.The conversation explores the key features of Overpipe's products, including integrated water drainage, anti-slip surfaces, and a 50-year lifespan. Yannick highlights the plates' global adoption, from legacy assets to emerging technologies like hydrogen pipelines. He also touches on the future of infrastructure safety with smart plates incorporating sensors for enhanced monitoring.As Overpipe's exclusive UK distributor, Fisher German is bringing these innovative solutions to projects across the country.

Ingredients for Success: Insights from Eric Doherty on Leadership, Teamwork, and the Future of AIIn a world where evolution is key, successful leadership starts with a foundation of teamwork, transparency, and the right hires to transform challenges into opportunities. Whether you're an entrepreneur seeking to build a business legacy, a corporate leader navigating conflict resolution, or a seeker of abundance and purpose, leveraging generative AI can revolutionize how we lead and inspire. As we explore this journey, staying aligned with your self-worth, faith, and passion for making a difference on this planet empowers you to guide your team with confidence and achieve incredible success. Stay the course, believe in your soul's mission, and unlock the secrets to leading with impact in a constantly evolving world.The latest episode of Stay on Course podcast featured a dynamic conversation with Eric Doherty, a global leader in healthcare and generative AI. As the President and CEO of HDPE, Eric brings his expertise in pharmaceutical and medical device commercialization, driving impactful advancements in global health and change management. His innovative approach bridges the worlds of corporate strategy and entrepreneurship, empowering leaders to transform their organizations and evolve their legacy. You can find Eric on LinkedIn, where his insights on leadership, teamwork, and AI inspire people across the world to unlock their potential.Learn more about Eric: https://linktr.ee/ericdohertyKey Ingredients for SuccessDuring this thought-provoking podcast, Eric shared his secrets to success, outlining three essential ingredients for building businesses and creating lasting impact.1. Hire the Right PeopleSuccess begins with people. Eric emphasized that hiring individuals who align with your mission and values is the foundation of a thriving organization. Leaders should inspire, teach, and motivate their team, ensuring each person feels valued and connected to the bigger purpose. By taking the time to understand each person's unique strengths and personality, you can employ them in roles where they create the most worth and impact.Eric reminded us that hiring isn't just about finding talent—it's about sharing your vision to attract the right people who believe in your goals and want to grow with your team.2. Build Strong Teams Through Transparency and CommunicationTeamwork is essential for any business or corporate success. Eric stressed the importance of fostering collaboration, trust, and clear communication. Leaders must ensure that their teams are aligned with organizational goals while creating an environment that encourages open dialogue and problem-solving.Transparency plays a critical role in maintaining trust. Sharing your vision, steps for growth, and plans for resolution helps teams navigate challenges and achieve their goals together. This level of openness leads to stronger alignment, better teamwork, and more sustainable success.3. Leverage Technology WiselyThe rise of generative AI has transformed how businesses operate. Eric shared how technology can streamline processes, resolve challenges, and accelerate innovation, particularly in fields like healthcare, HR, and entrepreneurship. However, while AI is a powerful tool for efficiency and transformation, it must enhance—rather than replace—the human touch.Leaders must ensure the data fueling AI is accurate and used with purpose. As organizations evolve, leveraging AI responsibly allows businesses to liberate creative energy and focus on innovation, while still maintaining a strong connection to their core values and mission.#LeadershipSuccess #GenerativeAI #BusinessLegacy #TeamworkMatters #StayOnCourse #EntrepreneurshipJourney #InnovationLeadership #TransformAndEvolve #PurposeDrivenSuccess #UnlockYourPotential #Eric Doherty #julierigaLearn more about Eric: https://linktr.ee/ericdohertyLearn moe about Julie: https://www.julieriga.com/

Thank you to our Poly Podcast sponsor WL Plastics.

In this episode, Mark melts some HDPE. Bruce smashes some apples. Drew designs a bathroom cabinet. Plus, a ton more! GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT!Listen for details about our November giveaway. Get entered and there are even ways to earn bonus entries. Details in the episode. Thanks to SUPERCLEAR EPOXY for sponsoring this giveaway! T-shirts: https://fishersshoponline.com/merch & https://www.bruceaulrich.com/shop/clothing SUBSCRIBE TO DIRTtoDONE on YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/DIRTtoDON -This episode is sponsored by OneFinity CNC! We have partnered with them and would love it if you would go to their website and check them out: https://www.onefinitycnc.com/ Become a patron of the show! http://patreon.com/webuiltathing OUR TOP PATREON SUPPORTERS -Tim Morrill -Scott @ Dad It Yourself DIY http://bit.ly/3vcuqmv -Brent Jarvis https://bit.ly/2OJL7EV -Ray Jolliff -Deo Gloria Woodworks (Matthew Allen) https://www.instagram.com/deogloriawoodworks/ -Henry Lootens (@Manfaritawood) -Chris Simonton -Maddux Woodworks http://bit.ly/3chHe2p -Byrom's Custom Woodworks -Bruce Clark -Will White -Cody Elkins (creator of the Jenny Bit) -Andy @ Mud Turtle Woodworks -Damon Moran -Monkey Business Woodworks -Rich from Woodnote Studio -AC Nailed It -Joe Santos from Designer's Touch Kitchen & Bath Studio -Aaron Yelton -Chad Green -Ryan Talley -Trevor -Mark Herrick @ Empty Nest Woodworks -Not That Aaron, the other one New: -Aaron Yelton  Support our sponsors: MagSwitch: https://mag-tools.com -use code "WBAT" for 10% off SurfPrep: https://www.surfprepsanding.com/?aff=48  -use code "BLACKFRIDAY2023" for 15% off & "CYBERMONDAY2023" for 15% off Bits & Bits: use code "FISHER10" for 10% off Starbond: use code "BRUCEAULRICH15" for 15% off Rotoboss: "GUNFLINT" Merlin Moisture Meters: https://www.merlin-humidification.com/wood-moisture-meters Bidwell Wood & Iron/Atomic Finishes: "BRUCEAULRICH" for 10% off Arbortech Carving Tools: "BRUCEAULRICH" for 10% off. (https://arbortechtools.idevaffiliate.com/127.html)  Montana Brand Tools: “GUNFLINT10” Monport: “GUNFLINT6” Stonecoat: "Gunflint" gets you 10% off MAS Epoxy: FLINT YesWelder: GUNFLINT10 Millner-Haufen Tool Co: "ulrich20" gets you 20% off Wagner Meters: https://www.wagnermeters.com/?ref=208 We Built A Thing T-shirts! We have two designs to choose from! (You can get one of these as a reward at certain levels of support) https://amzn.to/2GP04jf  https://amzn.to/2TUrCr2 ETSY SHOPS: Bruce: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BruceAUlrich?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=942512486 Drew: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FishersShopOnline?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=893150766 Mark: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GunflintDesigns?ref=search_shop_redirect Bruce's most recent video: https://youtu.be/xRFe5bELcyE?si=rXBq3csbaaBq7quz Drew's most recent video: https://youtu.be/uVlsKXiIoXo?si=7C3E3sYKkZz6uPIV Mark's most recent video: https://youtu.be/a701NsPo4ss?si=96H_AiQVVNV1YvbL We are all makers, full-time dads and all have YouTube channels we are trying to grow and share information with others. Throughout this podcast, we talk about making things, making videos to share on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, etc...and all of the life that happens in between.  CONNECT WITH US: WE BUILT A THING: www.instagram.com/webuiltathingWE BUILT A THING EMAIL: webuiltathing@gmail.com FISHER'S SHOP: www.instagram.com/fishersshop/ BRUDADDY: www.instagram.com/brudaddy/ GUNFLINT DESIGNS: https://www.instagram.com/gunflintdesigns Music by: Jay Fisher (Thanks, Jay!)

In this episode of Clean Power Hour, host Tim Montague interviews Drew Bond, CEO and co-founder of Powerfield Energy, about their innovative solar racking system. The company's flagship product, the PowerRack, represents a significant departure from traditional solar mounting solutions. At its core, it's a highly engineered HDPE plastic tub that holds solar panels at a 25-degree angle, requiring no tools or ground penetration for installation - installers simply fill the tubs with local materials like dirt, sand, or rock. While each empty rack weighs just 17 pounds, it can hold up to 550 pounds of ballast when filled, creating a stable foundation for solar panels.Founded in 2017 by former AES Solar and SunEdison executives, Powerfield Energy has proven its concept through rigorous testing at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and successful deployment across over 200 installations in the United States. The system offers several distinct advantages over traditional racking, including achieving 33% higher power density (1MW per 2.5-3 acres), lower wind loads due to its low profile design, and flexibility for uneven terrain up to 10-degree slopes. It's particularly well-suited for brownfields and landfills where ground penetration isn't feasible, and its removable/recyclable nature makes it attractive for temporary installations or land that may need future repurposing.The company is currently expanding its product line to accommodate larger solar panels and has secured significant projects, including a 100MW installation in the southeastern United States. The Power Rack is available through major distributors including GreenTech Renewables, and was recently deployed in Maui for fire relief efforts. Made in the USA and backed by a 25-year warranty, the system exemplifies innovation in solar mounting technology, making installation simpler while potentially reducing both upfront and long-term operational costs. For more information about Powerfield Energy, visitors can check out powerfieldenergy.com, or follow Clean Power Hour at cleanpowerhour.com.Social Media HandlesDrew BondPowerfield Energy Support the showConnect with Tim Clean Power Hour Clean Power Hour on YouTubeTim on TwitterTim on LinkedIn Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com Review Clean Power Hour on Apple PodcastsThe Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America's number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

In this episode of Building Texas Business, I chat with Renee Morris, Chief Curl Officer at Uncle Funky's Daughter. We explore her path from management consultant to leading a national hair care brand. Renee shares her approach to maintaining business control by relying on personal savings and family support rather than external investors. She discusses forming partnerships with major retailers like Target and Walgreens while building a creative team to drive innovation. I learned how she tackles recruitment challenges and ensures brand visibility at a national level. Looking ahead, Renee explains her vision to expand into skincare and education, and serving communities of color in new ways. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS Renee Morris discusses her journey from management consultant to Chief Curl Officer at Uncle Funky's Daughter, emphasizing her desire to balance career ambitions with family life. We explore Renee's decision to purchase an existing company rather than starting from scratch, leveraging her experience in sales and marketing strategy within the consumer products sector. Renee highlights the importance of having a financial safety net when transitioning to entrepreneurship, sharing her personal experience of not drawing a salary for years and relying on her husband's support. We talk about Renee's strategic decision to avoid third-party investors to maintain control over her business, focusing on conservative growth and solving customer problems. Renee explains her approach to forming strategic partnerships with major retailers like Target and Walgreens, discussing the role of distributors in helping small brands enter national markets. We discuss the challenges of recruiting and nurturing talent, emphasizing the importance of fostering a collaborative environment that encourages innovation and creative thinking. Renee outlines her vision for expanding the brand into adjacent areas such as skincare and education, aiming to serve the community of color more broadly. We explore Renee's leadership style, focusing on adaptability and learning from failures as she considers new business ventures. Renee shares personal insights from her early career and hiring experiences, emphasizing the importance of trusting one's instincts during the recruitment process. We examine the role of social media and influencers in maintaining customer confidence and visibility during brand transitions, particularly when changes are made to product packaging. LINKSShow Notes Previous Episodes About BoyarMiller About Uncle Funky's Daughter GUESTS Renee MorrisAbout Renee TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Chris: In this episode you will meet Renee Morris, chief Curl Officer at Uncle Funky's Daughter. Renee shares her passion for helping curly girls solve their hair problems with unique and innovative natural hair products. Renee, I want to thank you for coming on Building Texas Business. It's so glad, happy to have you as a guest. Renee: Thank you, I'm excited to be here. Chris: Okay, so you won the award so far for having the coolest and, I would say, funky, but that would be. Renee: Play on words Right. Chris: But as far as a name for a company, uncle Funky's Daughter, yes. Okay, tell us what is your company known for and what do you do? Renee: So Uncle Funky's Daughter is a hair products company. We're based here in Houston, texas. I bought the company, so the parent company is Rotenmore's Consumer Group. But I bought the brand Uncle Funky's Daughter 10 years ago from a husband and wife team. So Uncle Funky's Daughter curates natural hair products for women, men and children who choose to wear their hair naturally, and so that's shampoos, conditioners, curl definers, moisturizers, stylers, finishers. Shampoos, conditioners, curl definers, moisturizers, stylers, finishers you name it, we make it. We also have a thermal protection line for women who want to blow dry and style their hair with heat, and we're distributed nationally Target, walgreens, kroger, cvs, heb, locally, so you name it, other than Walmart, we're there. Chris: Beauty Easy to find, easy to find, easy to find well, I have to ask this because I have daughters. I mean Sephora or Ulta. Renee: No, Sephora or Ulta. Yet we've been working that line. We can talk about that as part of this deep dive, but we've been working that line and but no land in Sephora or Ulta just yet okay, very good. Chris: So how did you find your way into the hair care product world? Because you didn't start there. Renee: No, I am a former management consultant 20 years management consulting, advising clients multi-billion dollar companies on how to drive revenue growth and through sales and marketing. And I was a mother of three kids. At the time my son was probably three or four, my daughters were two and I was flying back and forth between Houston and New York for a client. And I had this realization that I didn't want to do that as a mom. I needed to be home, but I still wanted to be a career person. So I knew I am not built to be a stay-at-home mother. That is not who I am, and COVID taught me that with isolation. And so what I started deciding was I wanted to figure out what I wanted to do next and I realized I had some options. Right, it's that fork in the road that you go through. You start to look inwardly every time you have that fork in the road and I did that and I said okay, your option A is to go find a company based in Houston and be a VP or senior VP of some operation. Option B is you find a small company and you're like a big fish in a small pond kind of thing. Option C is you just go do your own thing. And after I kind of went through it, I realized I worked for the Coca-Colas, like in GE Capitals of the world, in my past. I didn't want to go work for a big company. I didn't think I wanted to work for a small company because of my personality style, right, um. And so I decided I wanted to go buy something and then or have my own company. And so then the question becomes do you build or do you buy my? I'm a management consultant by heart, so it's always go buy something. Why? Because I can take it, I can fix it and I can grow it. And so then it became all right, well, what are you going to go buy? And so, like most people out there, they're thinking about buying a company. I started reaching out to brokers, I started doing some networking, calling attorneys, people that work on deals, that kind of stuff, just putting my name out there, and I got all the things that you normally get when you're looking to buy a company the gym, the dry cleaner, the storage facility, the gas station, all the things that I didn't want to buy because I didn't have a passion for them. And so, also, for background, my consulting experience in sales and marketing strategy has been predominantly in consumer products. So I know consumer products, I know revenue growth, I know marketing strategy. So I was like okay, so I kept looking and I used this hair product called Uncle Funky's Daughter. I found it when I first moved here in 2000. Like all curly girls out there back then, that was almost 20 years ago, my goodness. But 15 years ago back then there weren't a lot of natural hair products out there for women of color and women of curly hair with curly hair specifically. And so I googled when I first moved here natural hair products, curly hair, houston and Uncle Funky Stoddard came up. I've never heard of this company right. So I go to rice village and buy this product and I start using it. Extra butter, start using it. And for those out there that are, you know, african American descent, you know thick, curly hair, we do this thing called two strand twists to what. I love it. Two strand twist. Chris: Okay. Renee: So, you take your hair and you twist it in like instead, instead of braiding it, you put it in twists, and there are single twists all over my head right. So that's how I would style my hair wear it, rock a two strand twist. Those out there will understand that, look it up and then Google it and then and so that worked on my hair really well. And so, again, for those with tight, curly hair, finding the right hair product that works for your hair is tough. It is not easy, as you know. One of your team members, courtney, was talking about. She's gone through all the products Because you go through this product journey trying to find something that works for you right. So found Extra Butter, worked, loved it, and then I would stop using it while I'm traveling because I would forget it right at home sure. I would go back to some other competitive brand and it didn't work for my hair. So I'm like, okay, uncle Funky's daughter is the only thing that works for my hair. So I go in to get my Uncle Funky's daughter one day, after I, you know, had braids and wash them out. And yada, yada, yada. I'm going in, I'm getting my extra butter and this guy behind the counter who I bought hair products from for the past at this point, five years, says yeah, my wife and I are going through a divorce and I'm like, oh, so I do have an MBA right. I'm not some, you know, trying to sound like a shark, but my MBA said distressed asset might be willing to sell stress asset might be willing to sell. Like literally, that is the voice that went in my head. And so I was like, oh really. So I stood there in that store and I just chatted with him for hours and about the company, you know what, you know personally what he was going through, because divorce, you know, for those that may have gone through it, can be an emotional, you know troubling time. So I was a listening ear. But as I'm listening, I'm also thinking about like, okay, what's the story behind the brand? Is this going to resonate? And I'm also watching people come in and out, right. And so I said, well, if you guys are you guys thinking about selling it? And he gives me a story about you know what's happening with the sell and cell and I said, well, if you're ever thinking about selling it, let me know. So I walk out, I Google, because you know this is horrible to say, but divorces are public right right. Chris: Is it filed in state court? Renee: it's a public record so I'm figuring out what's happening with the divorce and I find out that the company is in receivership. And for those who don't know, because I did not know at the time what a receivership was, a receivership happens when a divorce is happening and the husband and wife aren't operating, behaving appropriately. Chris: Well, they can't agree on the direction of the company and it can be not in a divorce. But basically, owners cannot agree and a court may appoint a receiver to run the company. Renee: Exactly. Thank you, that's why you're the attorney and a court may appoint a receiver to run the company Exactly. Chris: Thank you. That's why you're the attorney. Renee: Have a little experience with that yes, so the judge had appointed this guy to be the receiver. I reached out to the gentleman and I said I'm interested in the sale of Uncle Funky's daughter, if that so happens to be the case. And so the one thing I did learn and you can probably expound on this is oftentimes in a divorce, when the receiver comes in, at that point that receiver is really thinking about how to get rid of this asset. And so those are all the things that I learned during this process, and I was like, okay, so he wants to sell because he wants to get paid and he knows nothing about this business. Chris: He was, you know no offense, no emotional tie to it, for sure no emotional tie. Renee: He's an older white gentleman who knows nothing about black hair products and so I was like, okay, so he doesn't know, he doesn't have an appreciation for the value of the company. And so I reached out and I said, okay, here's a number. You wouldn't believe the number I gave him and he counted with some minor you, some minor adjustment, and we bought this company for less than $100,000. And they had a revenue at the time. When I saw their tax returns, I think it was maybe a million or so that they claimed in revenue. At some point they said, but at least for sure I think our first year of revenue was probably around and it was a partial year. Probably a quarter million dollars is what revenue they generated, and so we really, if you talk about a multiple of sales, we bought it on a tremendous it's a heck of a deal the deal. Okay, I can't find those deals these days. If anybody has one of those deals, you come let me know and so. So that's how we ended up buying this company ten years ago and shortly thereafter, target comes knocking at the door and says, hey, we were having this discussion with the owners about, you know, potentially launching. Would you be interested? And I'm like, absolutely. And it was because they were going through this divorce that they couldn't get over the finish line, right? And so shortly after we buy, we're launching in target. But before I did that, one of the first things I did was because, if you ever, if any, it's probably so old you can't find it. But the label. When I first bought the company, when I was buying it, it was this woman's face with a big afro on the front and it had a cute little 70s vibe on it and it was in this white hdpe bottle which, by the way, those aren't recyclable. So I said first, we need to change this, we got to change the packaging, we got to upgrade the label, we need to make it universally appealing to all curly girls, because if I look at a woman with a big afro, I think tight, curly hair like mine right and our products work across the spectrum from wavy, like Courtney, to really tight, like Renee, and that wasn't representative on the label okay so we redesigned the label, changed the bottle from an HDPE bottle to a PET bottle, which is recyclable, and then just upgraded this packaging to what I consider a sleeker new look. Chris: Very good, Great story, Thank you. So back up a little bit, share a little bit, because so you go from big corporate consulting job some comfort in there probably. You mentioned travel and you did mention the mom aspect playing a role. But let's talk a little bit about actually getting the courage to take that leap out of the big corporate role into. I'm going to buy something that's all on me now to either make it or break it. Yeah, that had to be scary. Renee: It was, and I am fortunate in that. You're right. I had comfort. We have financial security. I had a husband who was, who still is, who's a senior executive in medical devices has nothing to do with anything about consumer products, but you know, we have the luxury for him to say I can carry this load, financial load, and I think that's the big mix, right? I tell people all the time if you're going to take that leap, you got to make sure you've got cash flow, because for not only for your, you know, for the company, but for you personally, right? Because there were several years where my husband called my business a hobby Because I was contributing nothing to the financial plan. Chris: In fact, you were probably taken away. Yeah, I was taken away. Renee: So every year I mean. So I wasn't drawing a salary. I didn't draw a salary for a couple of years after I, I didn't draw a salary until our tax accountant said you have to draw a salary because we're changing you from whatever tax to an S-corp. And I was like oh, wow, really Okay. So what am I going to pay myself? Okay, and then he goes Well, you have, and it has to be reasonable. So for probably three or four years after I bought the company, I didn't draw a salary. I was paying my employees but I wasn't paying myself. And so I think and I say all that to say yes, it takes a leap, but it also takes the ability and the willingness to take that financial hit Right. So were there things that we probably wanted to do as a family that we didn't do? Probably so. Chris: Yeah. Renee: Because I'm growing this brand and was there times I went to my husband like I need another thirty thousand dollars? Probably so. And because one of the things I specifically had chosen is I did not want, and I currently still don't want, to pull in private equity, vc any type of third party investor funding. That is a personal decision I've made and it's because I am a former accountant and I'm extremely financially conservative and I also don't want different incentives to help influence how I run my business, different incentives to help influence how I run my business, and what I mean by that is I personally just didn't want to have a PE company saying you need to do these three things because your multi, your EBITDA needs to look like this and your revenue growth needs to look like that. Right, so I could have we could have easily grown really fast, like a lot of brands do, and grown themselves out of business, or, but I chose the path to grow really conservatively Now, and so I think I say all that to say I think, yes, financially speaking, having the bandwidth to be able to float yourself and your company for a while is critical, and so don't take the leap if you're still, if you're at your job today, living paycheck to paycheck right, you have to have a cushion. Your job today, living paycheck to paycheck right, you have to have a cushion. So what that means is, maybe if you're trying to start the company, then you're running your business while you're living paycheck to paycheck and oh, by the way, you gotta stop living paycheck to paycheck because you got to start to build that cushion, right. So some of the you got to make sacrifices and I think that's the hard thing. Not everyone's willing to make the financial sacrifice that it takes to really run and grow a business without third party support. Now, in today's world, you can go get bc capital funding and you know money is flowing, or at least it was, you know but there, but there's sacrifices, but there's sacrifices with that, and so, yeah, that's great advice, you know. Chris: The other thing that you mentioned, as you were evaluating companies is one of my favorite words when it comes to business is passion. You passed on a ton of things because you weren't passionate about it. Renee: Yeah. Chris: You found something you were passionate about, and I think that's a lesson for people too, right Is? It's not easy to do. As you mentioned. Sacrifices have to be made. So if you're not really passionate about that decision to go be an entrepreneur, start your own business. It's going to be tough. Renee: Yeah, it's going to be tough, and so, because I have to wake up every day, I my passion is really helping people solve problems, and I do that through hair, because hair is a problem in the curly hair community. How do I maintain frizz? How do I keep it under control? How do I keep it healthy so it doesn't break? How do I keep it healthy so it can grow? How do I stop the scalp irritation? There's so many problems that happen in hair and so I what I think about. Like literally yesterday I was with my marketing team and we're talking about a campaign for the next month for products etc. Or really November, and I said, OK, what problem are we helping her solve? And that's literally the way I think about stuff what problem are we helping her solve? Because if we're not helping her solve a problem, then I don't have anything to talk about. Chris: Ok, Right, yeah, it's not going to move off the shelf. Renee: It's not going to move off the shelf thing to talk about. Chris: Okay, right, yeah, it's not going to move off the shelf. It's not going to move off the shelf. So another thing that you kind of alluded to, you went through somewhat. It sounds like a kind of transforming the business that you took over, right? You mentioned the product label and packaging. Let's talk. What else did you, you know, in taking that business over, did you find yourself having to change, and how did you go about making those decisions? Are either prioritizing them and you know we can't do it all- at once yeah, so what walk? us through some of the learning you went through that well, you know what's interesting is. Renee: So it wasn't much of a transformation, but it was. If you think about learning from a marketing standpoint, if you're going to buy a business, especially a consumer product company, and you buy it in today's world where we're so used to knowing who the owner is the first people don't like change. So one of the first things I had to do was convince our current customers that nothing had changed other than the label. The minute your package changes and it looks different, they're like the formulas have changed, it's not the same be the same. It's not the same product. So the first thing I had to do was convince them that this is the same product. In fact, I brought back discontinued SKUs that the receiver had stopped selling because they were slow moving. **Chris: How did you go about convincing the existing customer base? Nothing changed. Renee: So news articles, facebook articles, facebook social ads, like having live conversations, going live on social media all of those were things that I had to go in and dispute or Dubuque being like I was the person respond. There was no team, it was me and one other person. The first person I hired was a social media person. Okay, wasn't a warehouse person, it was a social media person because I knew being the being in the face of the customer was so important. So being live and answering questions online, answering the phone and people would call they will go. I heard that this wasn't the same formula. No, ma'am, it's the same formula. And actually having those, it was me having those live, one-on-one conversations. And so I think really touching the customer and being personal with her was the key to our success in in gaining that confidence. And we also you know this was early in the days of influencers we also had to partner with people to be able to talk about. Like it's the same stuff, guys, this is the bottle. This is the old bottle. This is the new bottle. This is both sides of my hair, no change. Chris: Okay, okay, very smart to especially, like you said, I mean so many people now the social media influencers have such impact on what products get picked up in the mainstream. Advert Hello friends, this is Chris Hanslick, your Building Texas business host. Did you know that Boyer Miller, the producer of this podcast, is a business law firm that works with entrepreneurs, corporations and business leaders? Our team of attorneys serve as strategic partners to businesses by providing legal guidance to organizations of all sizes. Get to know the firm at boyermillercom, and thanks for listening to the show. Chris:So let's move forward a little bit. Part of changing things new products. There's a level. You mentioned your marketing meeting yesterday. What do you do within the company to help kind of foster innovation and inspire your people to be innovative about the products? Renee: That's a tough one because it's hard. Here's the challenge that we have as a small company. As a small company, it's hard for me to afford to pay me like the equivalent of a me right. The woman or a man with the MBA in marketing who's got, you know, 10 years at Coca-Cola. I am oftentimes recruiting talent, that's learning and I'm teaching, as they, you know, grow up in our company and so innovation is really. You know, I'm usually in that meeting asking the provocative question Like do these assets, does this story come together like cohesively, what problems are we helping them solve? Like, I am there helping them think through and push their thinking a little bit forward. We'll sit and we just do brainstorming with, you know, little toys in the room and stuff to play with, but it's really just helping them kind of. All right, just toss some ideas out there. Let's just throw like what is this, what does this mean? What's her brand voice? What does she sound like? What does she look like? Like asking those questions to help them just kind of think outside of the box. Now, if she looks like this, so what kind of tone is she going to have? All right, so what would she say then? Okay, so let's talk about, like how then that manifests itself and how it shows up creatively, and so just helping them kind of drill down to the so what is really kind of the role I like to play. It's the role I'm playing right now because I'm looking for a marketing director. Chris: Okay, yeah, anybody listening out there. Renee: Anybody listening out there? Submit resumes. Chris: So you talked about some major players as partners that you have right, yeah. Target and Walgreens and CVS, et cetera. So let's talk a little bit about that. How did you go about? You kind of you told a little bit about Target, but what have you done and what have you found to be successful? And maybe strategies that weren't successful in forming those relationships, but maybe, even more importantly, fostering and maintaining those relationships. Renee: So forming on the forming side retailers. For those who may or may not know the space, they want to come to you in one of two ways either direct or indirect through a distributor. For a small brand like mine, it's usually hey, I don't want to service direct, I want you to go through a distributor. And usually it's because when you first launch, you're going to be in a handful of their stores not full distribution is what they call it so not in all 1700 Target stores, but I think we started out in a hundred and so we had to go through a third-party distributor, and so that distributor then opened the door to other national retailers for us. So if you're thinking about launching into a national retail partner and you're a small company like mine, your best route to market is finding a distributor that represents your category in a national retailer. So whether that's peanut butter, hair products, lotions, flat tires, whatever, so you have to go and find that distributor. So that was step one. Once we got that relationship, our job is to grow it by driving traffic through the stores and getting that sell through. If it's not generating units per store per week, it gets pulled right. So one person wisely said a retail shelf space is like real estate. Once you buy your home, you don't want to lose it to foreclosure. So once you've got that slot, my job is to defend those two slots. And when I say we're national retailers, we're not like a P&G where P&G dominates the shelf. We've got sometimes two slots, sometimes four, but we're not, we don't have 10. So our slots are really important for us at a retailer and so for me, maintaining the relationship comes back to driving the traffic to the store. But, more importantly, supply chain. So when I talked about growing too fast for some brands and having measured growth, it was very important for me because I understood I came from a consulting company, although I did did sales and marketing most of what we did as an organization was supply chain. I wasn't the supply chain person, but I like to say I knew enough to be dangerous when I bought Uncle Plunky's daughter. So because I understood supply chain, I knew that not, we could not risk. We needed to have safety stock, we need to have inventory levels that look like x, and so that's why I did what I called measured growth. And so you know the distributor may come to me and go. I can get you into Kroger, walmart. Nope, we're going to do one retailer a year, one big guy a year, because I need to make sure I can scale, I need to make sure my contract manufacturers can scale, I need to make sure my team knows what to do and they know how to execute and fulfill the requirements of that specific retailer and so that we are successful. So that was the way that we grew and that's kind of the way we've continued to grow. Chris: That's so smart, that discipline right. It's easier said than done, because you just start a company and you go a couple years not making any money, or what you do make you put back in the company and then you got all these great opportunities. Come at you once. Renee: It's easy to say yes yes, yes, yes and yes, but you can't fulfill those promises, no one will come back. And there are horror stories where brands have been like yes, I'll go into Target, walmart, kroger, heb, cvs and Walgreens all at the same time and they can't meet the demand or they launch and they don't have enough awareness in the consumer market to be able to support and drive the traffic in all of those stores. So you really have to focus on how you're going to grow, where you're going to grow, and how you're going to drive traffic into these markets and into those stores. Chris: I mean any details you can put behind that, just as some examples to make it a little more tangible of things that you did, things that you thought about. Okay, we have to get this right to kind of prove that we can go to the next level. Renee: Yes. So for Target we did a lot of in-store events, so we took Target. So imagine if I was doing replicating this across like five different retailers. But for Target back in the day, for social media was much more organic and less pay-per-play than it is now, right, so we would do like it's a 10-day countdown. You know, to Target we're launching in 10, 9, 8, like on social media, it was like running ads. Then we did a find us in the Target, so we would do these fun games on social media and our followers would have to find us in their local Target and if they found us and they won a gift card, so we were doing anything we could. We would do in-store events where we would just have a table popped up where you can try products, give away products, get coupons, you name it. We were doing it. Gotcha, we were doing events outside the store. Inside the store. I was rogue because I didn't have permission from Target to do this. I mean because that would have cost me tens of thousand dollars, right, Target, I hope you're not listening and so we would literally just grab a camera and kind of come in and we would kind of sneak our little basket through the store down the hall and we would sit in there and the manager would come like, oh, we're just doing some footage, and I would say I just launched and I'm really trying to help my business and they would get it because you know, their local store manager, and so they would allow us to do like a little bit of a, a little bit of a pop-up shop kind of thing, and they would allow it. Now, today they probably wouldn't allow it because we're probably a lot more disciplined, but 15 years ago, 10 years ago, they would allow it and so, yeah, so those are the things that we had to do. So imagine if I was doing that for sally, for walmart, for kro, all in the same year, and I'm still trying to drive the traffic right, because we were still a small brand. Chris: Sure. Renee: I still call us a small brand because you know, if I go to you and I say, have you heard of Uncle Funky's Daughter? And your answer is no, then I'm a small brand, right. If I say you cause, everybody's heard of Clorox, coca-cola, pepsi, all the things, right, lacroix, you name it, they've heard of it, they haven't heard of Uncle Funky's Daughter. And so we're still in constant mode of brand awareness, and so trying to build that brand awareness and drive demand in every retail shelf at the same time would have been a daunting task for a brand like ours. Chris: Sure, do you still have the Rice Village? No, okay, shut that down we shut it down. Renee: I shut it down when I bought the company. That was the condition of the acquisition, because the day that I went and discovered who the owner was of the brand and I was sitting there chatting up the guy, in about a four hour period that I was there, maybe three people walked into that door okay so that you know, my brain said all right, that's a like a revenue killer. I'm not, you're not driving revenue right you need to focus on driving traffic on the retail shelf, and so are. We have no physical retail store now. Will we once again one day, maybe in a different format? Right, because now you, my friends? Other people have said you guys should open up a salon, and I'm like so maybe we'll open up a salon where the products are available and featured, but a retail store exclusively focused on our products will not be in a timeline. Chris: Okay. So there's an example right of an idea from friends. Maybe you thought about it, of branching out from what's core to your business. So far you've said no because you haven't done it. Maybe it's still out there. Why have you not done that? And I guess what could you counsel some listeners if they're faced with that? Or maybe they've done it and trying to make it work Again. That's another danger point, right Before you kind of branch into something different. Renee: So there are two things what I think about. Again. I always go from management consultant first right when I think about my business. I don't think about it personally, right, I think about it objectively. So I can go deep in my vertical or I can go wide horizontally, and I can do both. And so right now, where we are as a brand, honestly, is we need to go deeper in R&D and innovation. So we have not had an opportunity to launch a new product since COVID, and so we're in the process of developing a new product, so that's my primary focus. A new product line so we're developing a new product line, so that's my front focus. New product line so we're developing a new product line, so that's my front focus. Then, as I start to think about adjacency, about how do we take our core and expand and pivot beyond. Do you go to Skin next and stay in consumer products and go into Skin? Do you go in the two places that I'm more actively looking at Skin is out there as a product extension, but that's still core to Uncle Funky's Daughter. Do you go and do you buy another small company within Rote Morris Consumer Group and now you build a portfolio of brands? Because that's, really what I wanted to do when I started Rote Morris Consumer Group. My vision is to have a portfolio of consumer goods brands that meet the needs of the community of color, whether it's beauty, so for beauty. So that could be hair, that could be skin, it could be makeup, it could be a variety of different things that help her solve her problems every day. So that's really the vision. And then I bought this building a couple years ago and we have this wonderful, amazing space, and so and I open up this space I'm looking around. What are we gonna do with the rest of this space? We have this whole first floor, we have a whole second floor that's unoccupied, and even before I bought the building, this idea of building talent and a pipeline of funky junkies is what we call our followers funky junkies yeah that's what we call our followers, our customers. But how do you start to build not only a pipeline of loyal customers but a pipeline of loyal users? And so I started thinking about what if you actually had a trade school? What if you actually started? What if you were the next Paul Mitchell for African-American hair products, right when there's a Paul Mitchell school and you're teaching natural hair instead of you know other treatments that they do, and those exist outside of Texas. There's one that exists in Houston, but not focused on natural hair, but focused on beauty school. And so for those people out there who choose to have a different path in life and not go to college, but they're looking for a vocation or trade school and they want to be a hairstylist or barber, do you create a space for them to be able to do that? So that's the second adjacency. And then the third adjacency is then do you go the other end? So I know how to do hair, I'm learning how to do hair, I've got hair products, I'm doing hair on the other side and that's where the salon comes in. So in all both ends of the spectrum, I am a deep analytical person, so it's understanding what's happening in the market. So in the salon side, you look and you have to figure out and this is for anyone right. You never take a leap in adjacencies just because you think you have the money, the capability, the resources, whatever. You have to understand what's happening in the market because you're not smarter than the whole market. You might be smarter than a couple people in the market, but not the whole market. And so when I look at the hair salon space, I knew of several people in the Houston market that had launched salons and they had failed. They had failed within a three-year cycle and they had failed because the type of offering service offering that they wanted to provide was challenging. And that's the same service offering that we would need to provide as a brand. Chris: Right. Renee: And resources and talent. Going back to this other end of the pipeline I was talking about, in the supply chain, those can be sometimes challenging resources to recruit and retain in a salon side, and so when I do the analysis, it's looking at the risk versus reward. How am I smarter than the next person? How do I learn from those failures and ensure that I can recruit talent where I'm not? I don't have a high degree of turnover. I can create brand consistency. I can create service levels that meet the needs of not only what I want to offer, but what our customers expect. I need to exceed it, and so, because I haven't gotten that magic formula yet, we're leaving the salon right here in the marketplace. Chris: It's still on the drawing board right. Still on the drawing board, I like. I like it well, as it should be, until you figure it out, right? Yeah well, so let's turn a little bit and talk a little more about you yeah in leadership. How would you describe your leadership style? How do you think that's changed or evolved in the last 10 years? Renee: so I am a type a, hardcore type a. I am a driver and I know that about myself. But I also know that one of my weaknesses as a leader is I don't micromanage. What I have learned to evolve because of my consulting background, right In a consulting world you know 20 plus years is how I was trained. I'm a former salesperson. You just go get it done right, you know. So that is that's kind of like my bread and butter, and you have a team of type A's that are pretty much driven just like you are. So when you guys have a clear plan and you've got the end goal, all you're doing is managing the type A's to make sure that they get to the goal right at a very high level. No one needs to. You set meetings to review the spreadsheet and the spreadshe's done right. Fast forward to Uncle Funky's daughter. You set meetings to review the spreadsheet and it's like, oh, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, what you wanted me to do, so it requires much more. What I'm learning is it requires me to evolve my leadership style from one that's hands off, that's a little bit more hands-on, to make sure that my team understands where the bar of excellence is what our customers want from us, what the implications are when we miss deadlines, what the implications are if we ship the wrong product to the wrong customer, and so showing them and teaching them is where I've kind of learned. That's where my role is as a leader, really helping them really understand the implications of behaviors. And so I've evolved to from a leader that's I'm still. I still tell my team hey, I don't micromanage. If I have to, if I know it before you do, that's probably a problem, and so so they understand that, and so I think I'm still evolving my leadership style to adapt to a smaller company with a different team that thinks differently from the type A consultants with the MBAs that I'm used to working with, to the ones who you know maybe they don't have the MBA or maybe they're going to get it, or maybe they have a desire to get there, and so it really has required. It's a growth opportunity for me that I'm still learning to grow in, to be able to shift my mental mindset away from I got a team of driven people to I got a team that needs to be inspired, you know. Chris: Yeah, that's great. So what have you done to try to help you in the hiring process? Make sure you're making the best decision you can make about who you're bringing on your team? Renee: You know it's the hire slow, fire quick. Chris: Yes, another easier said than done. Renee: Easier said than done and that's where I am right now. Even in this open marketing director job that I'm looking for, it's really making sure I've gone through I go through so many, I go through all the resumes. My assistant will filter out the trash. But once she's filtered out the trash, I'm looking at those resumes going okay, is this someone who's going to? Because I'll openly say the reason I'm looking for a marketing director. I'll tell you this story. So I hire this person and she's from Adidas. She comes from Adidas background in marketing and she's Under Armour in marketing and she was in Latin America director of Latin America markets and she's just moved from Houston. So I'm thinking I've got a Latina because it's part of my demographic. That's awesome. She's got this global brand experience that's awesome. All in athleisure but transferable skills. It's marketing. She quits three months later, found another job in athleisure. So I interviewed, interviewed and found this one and this woman, you know, sold me on. I mean we had multiple conversations. I was like you know, sold me on. I mean, we had multiple conversations. I was like you know, hey. Chris: I'm really concerned about whether or not you know you can migrate from big company to this small company Cause it is a very valid concern. Renee: It's a big change. Right, you don't have a team. Your team is a team of three, not a team of 20. Right, and so your role really changes. And so she. You know, she convinced me that, but the lesson learned was that you know my spidey senses. I didn't listen to them. Like my spidey senses said, she may not stay. Like there were little things that happened along the way you get enamored with all the other stuff. Right, but I was so hungry to have a big company, someone to come in to show my team other than me, for them to hear it from someone other than me that this is what marketing looks like, Right, this is the marketing discipline that we need to have. And so she came in. She brought some marketing discipline. She heard that, you know she brought some value in the three months, but it was. It's been really a painful learning process, right, because now I'm short of marketing director, I'm stepping in, yeah, yeah. Chris: Well, what you alluded to there, right, is just the cost hard cost and soft cost when you make a bad hiring decision yeah Because you know you're having to fill the role or someone else. Renee: Yep, so that distracts, you, it's me right now. Chris: It distracts you from doing your full-time else. Yep, so that distracts you. It's me right now. It distracts you from doing your full-time job. Yep, you're now spending time going through resumes and going to be interviewing and you wasted, if you will, all the time on the one that only lasted three months. Yeah, so there's a lot of cost there. There's a lot of cost there. Renee: And then you're sitting there and knowing I've got to restart this whole process, I've got to try to maintain the momentum within my team this is the second marketing person they've had in the past year so and so how do you start to just kind of manage through that and so, instead of and when you get burned, that one time, as I'm looking at resumes, I'm looking at people with deep experience in a particular industry and I'm going oh nope. Chris: Learn, that is, that there's that bias creep right you're. You have to not let yourself penalize these people you've never met, just as they might look the same on paper yeah, as the one bad actor in the group. Renee: Yeah, and so you and you're right, and so I'm going well, and I'm having these conversations and then yeah, so it's just. Yeah, I think that's like one hiring, firing, hiring slow, firing quick. Chris: Sometimes, even when you hire slow, you still get I tell people it's part science, it's part art and it's the more process I think you can put in place and follow the better. But you're never going to be 100 right and I think figuring out the characteristics that work in your organization is something that you can incorporate into your hiring process and know that this is the kind of background traits, characteristics that thrive here. Renee: Yeah, and even and I would also say, listening to that, you know, those spidey senses that are coming with those thoughts creep in like, and they were coming like there were things, there were triggers that happened through the hiring process. Then I was like I'm not sure she's going to be a good fit. Like you know, for example, she called and said hey, can I work from home? I was like no, you cannot work from home. So that was like that was. Oh, renee, we're gonna do a whole episode on work from home. Oh yeah, oh yeah. And so those were the triggers of like, okay, she might not be the good fit. And when those were the when that happens to you, you got to listen to it and like and be okay with backing out. But I didn't listen to the trigger because we were so far down in the negotiation and I should have just said, you know, I don't think this is going to work out Right, and rescinded the offer. But I had already extended the offer, right, and I didn't want to have egg on my face. Chris:Sure. Renee: So I mean I, what I should have done is just let my ego go, rescinded the offer and continue to look. Chris: Yeah, or at least be upfront about this is starting to give me concerns. Here's why. Renee: Yeah. But I you know you know it's which I did that I did that okay, she covered it up she covered that up. She told me exactly what I wanted to hear, but still the those doubts were in my head and I should have listened to my gut. And that gut is a powerful thing. You know that, maxwell Galt, maxwell Galt Gladwell, it's a powerful thing. And if, when you listen to it, you're usually right, 100%. Yeah, 100%. Chris: Renee, this has been a fascinating conversation. Just to wrap it up, I have a few just personal things. I always like to ask yeah, what was your first job as a kid? Renee: Newspaper. I was a newspaper girl. You had a newspaper route? Yes, Absolutely I did. I'll be darned. My sister got up in the morning and helped me through my newspapers. Chris: You're not the first guest. That was their first job it was fairly common. Renee: You had to make me dig deep for that one. Chris: Okay, you made me dig deeper on this one. Sometimes people say this is the hardest question. Yeah, do you prefer Tex-Mex or barbecue? Renee: Barbecue no sauce Seasoned, very well seasoned, no hesitation. Chris: No, no hesitation and the woman knows what she wants. Yes, right. Renee: Don't bring me brisket with sauce on it. No. Chris: No sauce Extra seasoned. Renee: I want seasoned brisket, the moist kind. Okay, and, by the way, I'm not a Texan, but I moved to Texas and now I've been here 15 years and now it's like brisket barbecue. It's the only thing that I eat. Chris: I eat it's the only thing I want to eat. I might die of a heart attack, but it's the only thing I want to eat. I love it All right. So because you have four kids and I know your life's running crazy, this will be more of a fantasy. Renee: Yeah, if you could take. Chris: If you could take a 30 day sabbatical, where would you go? What would you do? Renee: Oh, I would be somewhere, probably in South Africa, in the, probably on a safari. I would tour safaris. I would go South Africa, kenya. I want to see the migration of animals. I would do that. Chris: I love it. Renee: That's where I would be. Chris: Renee, thank you so much for being on. This has been just a pleasure getting to know you and hear your story. Renee: Thank you. This is awesome. I listened to NPR how I built this. So this is like my. I feel like I'm excited. I've kind of done the NPR check. I like the how I built this check. Do you listen to that? Chris: I do, I do, I love it. I love that analogy. Renee: Yeah, it's great. Chris: Thanks again. Renee: Thanks for doing this. Special Guest: Renee Morris.

Join host Ian Peterman in this inspiring episode of Conscious Design as he interviews Leva Konaté, an account executive at Pretty Plastic. Konaté shares the remarkable journey of Pretty Plastic, which began in 2017 with a commitment to sustainability and eco-friendly construction through the use of 100% recycled building materials. The company initially focused on creating innovative building tiles from household HDPE plastics, earning accolades for their unique designs. As they transitioned to working with PVC, they faced significant challenges but ultimately succeeded in developing high-quality tiles that repurpose PVC waste from various sources. This episode explores Pretty Plastic's dedication to circularity in the construction sector, highlighting their aesthetically pleasing and easy-to-install tiles designed specifically for schools and utility buildings. Notable Moments: 00:00 - Introduction and Guest Welcome 00:26 - The Origin Story of Pretty Plastic 04:22 - Challenges and Innovations in Recycling PVC 06:50 - Product Development and Market Expansion 16:05 - Sustainability and Future Plans 34:35 - Conclusion and Contact Information About Pretty Plastic Pretty Plastic transforms waste into stunning, safe, and enduring facade and roof claddings, championing a circular economy where resources thrive in a cycle of continuous renewal. Our tiles are made of 100% recycled PVC. Embrace the beauty of upcycling, one tile at a time – from trash to tile, building(s) from waste.  Learn More About Pretty Plastic Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/prettyplastic/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/we_are_prettyplastic/ Website: https://www.prettyplastic.nl/ Pinterest: https://nl.pinterest.com/weareprettyplastic/ ▪️ Download Chapter 1 of the Conscious Design Book for FREE: https://www.petermanfirm.com/consciou... ▪️ Want to be a guest? Visit: https://bit.ly/3BetCkf ▪️ Want to work with us? Connect with Peterman Firm: https://www.petermanfirm.com/connect/ FIND US ONLINE

La nueva estructura, cuya obra es ejecutada por la Dirección de Obras Hidráulicas MOP, es una tubería HDPE de 600 milímetros de diámetro, contará con sumideros dobles en las intersecciones con calles Barros Borgoño, Setimio, Castro y Tocornal y 4 sumideros más en Portales, además de la reposición de 2.700 metros cuadrados de pavimento. El seremi de OO.PP., Yanino Riquelme González, explicó que, durante la ejecución del proyecto, es necesario suspender el tránsito en avenida Portales y se dispusieron desvíos.

Het lijkt niks, zo'n velletje papier. Maar daarachter schuilt een hele industrie van hout, water, chemicaliën en energie. Een Nederlands bedrijf probeert dit probleem te fixen met een duurzaam alternatief. Deze aflevering in het kort: -Het businessmodel van MOYU -De CO2-impact van de papierindustrie -Een probleem oplossen dat weinig mensen als probleem ervaren MOYU heet het product. Het is een uitwisbaar notitieboekje van steenpapier, dat is een duurzaam alternatief voor traditioneel papier en wordt gemaakt van gemalen kalksteen (calciumcarbonaat) en HDPE (een recyclebare kunststof). Hiermee wordt volgens bedenker Roel Schatorjé zeker 94 procent CO2 bespaard. Voor elk verkocht product laat hij bovendien één boom planten. Hij noemt het een voorbeeld voor een papierindustrie die natuur creëert in plaats van vernietigt. Luister ook | De expoitatie van een onbemande mini-supermarkt Weinig mensen beseffen dit, maar de mondiale papierindustrie is de op twee na de grootste CO2-vervuiler, met een uitstoot van maar liefst 7 procent. Ter vergelijking: dat is drie keer zoveel als de luchtvaartindustrie. Papier wordt nog steeds voor 99 procent van bomen gemaakt en één velletje papier vraagt bijvoorbeeld 10 liter water. Zijn alternatief is bestand tegen water en vet en scheurt bovendien niet makkelijk. Hij verkocht inmiddels 260.000 producten, die vooral als relatiegeschenk worden ingezet. Luister ook | Na 10 jaar ontwikkelen is Aquabattery klaar voor de markt Voor Schatorjé is het een uitdaging dat hij een probleem wil oplossen dat veel mensen helemaal niet als probleem ervaren. Papier heeft nu eenmaal - ten onrechte - een duurzaam imago. MOYU is ook de kartrekker van de Steenpapier Alliantie, een samenwerkingsverband dat streeft naar een circulaire, op afvalstromen gebaseerde papierindustrie in Europa. Nu nog worden de grondstoffen voor steenpapier uit Azië geïmporteerd en ook daar wil Schatorjé iets aan doen, met een keten die lokaal is georganiseerd.

Het lijkt niks, zo'n velletje papier. Maar daarachter schuilt een hele industrie van hout, water, chemicaliën en energie. Een Nederlands bedrijf probeert dit probleem te fixen met een duurzaam alternatief. Deze aflevering in het kort:-Het businessmodel van MOYU-De CO2-impact van de papierindustrie-Een probleem oplossen dat weinig mensen als probleem ervarenMOYU heet het product. Het is een uitwisbaar notitieboekje van steenpapier, dat is een duurzaam alternatief voor traditioneel papier en wordt gemaakt van gemalen kalksteen (calciumcarbonaat) en HDPE (een recyclebare kunststof). Hiermee wordt volgens bedenker Roel Schatorjé zeker 94 procent CO2 bespaard. Voor elk verkocht product laat hij bovendien één boom planten. Hij noemt het een voorbeeld voor een papierindustrie die natuur creëert in plaats van vernietigt.Luister ook | De expoitatie van een onbemande mini-supermarktWeinig mensen beseffen dit, maar de mondiale papierindustrie is de op twee na de grootste CO2-vervuiler, met een uitstoot van maar liefst 7 procent. Ter vergelijking: dat is drie keer zoveel als de luchtvaartindustrie. Papier wordt nog steeds voor 99 procent van bomen gemaakt en één velletje papier vraagt bijvoorbeeld 10 liter water. Zijn alternatief is bestand tegen water en vet en scheurt bovendien niet makkelijk. Hij verkocht inmiddels 260.000 producten, die vooral als relatiegeschenk worden ingezet. Luister ook | Na 10 jaar ontwikkelen is Aquabattery klaar voor de marktVoor Schatorjé is het een uitdaging dat hij een probleem wil oplossen dat veel mensen helemaal niet als probleem ervaren. Papier heeft nu eenmaal - ten onrechte - een duurzaam imago. MOYU is ook de kartrekker van de Steenpapier Alliantie, een samenwerkingsverband dat streeft naar een circulaire, op afvalstromen gebaseerde papierindustrie in Europa. Nu nog worden de grondstoffen voor steenpapier uit Azië geïmporteerd en ook daar wil Schatorjé iets aan doen, met een keten die lokaal is georganiseerd.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the beauty industry grapples with its environmental impact, the question on everyone's mind is: can cosmetic packaging be sustainable? Anyone looking into plastic packaging will be familiar with the sea of acronyms used for plastics: PET, PE, PP, HDPE. What do these acronyms mean? And which materials should beauty brands use when choosing packaging? In this episode of the Green Beauty Conversations podcast, we welcome a packaging expert to find answers. Lorraine Dallmeier, CEO of Formula Botanica and Chartered Environmentalist, welcomes Alexander Kwapis, VP of Fusion PKG. Alexander discusses the materials used to achieve product protection and sustainability. Together, they explore the complexity of designing cosmetic packaging and the future of sustainable beauty.   Free Resources Free formulation course | Green Beauty Conversations Podcast | Blog | YouTube Socials: Formula Botanica on Instagram | Lorraine Dallmeier on Instagram

About the Guest(s):Lisa Huett is the Director of Sustainability at Pretium Packaging, a leading company in the rigid packaging industry. Lisa has an extensive background in commercial sales and sustainability, having played a critical role in Pretium's acquisition of Alpha Packaging. With over 17 years in the industry, she now leads Pretium's Sustainability and Innovation division, driving the company's efforts towards sustainable packaging solutions and innovations across its 25 plants globally.About the Sponsors:Specright has some amazing things happening! Please check them out below and help support the podcast!* Specright Unpacked Webinar* Gartner Report* Packaging Pros eBook* Home Page* Book a demo with SpecrightMeyers has some incredible sustainable packaging options!* Get the 2023 Sustainability Report* Meyers Packaging EPR eBook - it is FREE!!Get the dopest Packaging shirts at www.packagingfashion.comBook a demo with Trayak (LCA's on demand!)SmartSolve has water soluble label and paper materials. Learn more!The Scrapp App is going to revolutionize home and corporate recycling. Download for your device today!Episode Summary:In this engaging episode of the People of Packaging Podcast, host Adam Peek welcomes Lisa Huett, the Director of Sustainability at Pretium Packaging. The discussion navigates through Lisa's journey from sales to sustainability and dives deep into the innovative sustainability initiatives at Pretium. They also touch upon global sustainability trends, especially how European Union regulations and practices are influencing strategies in North America. Lisa shares insights into the complexities of packaging materials, lifecycle analyses, and the importance of designing for recyclability.In the detailed conversation, Lisa outlines the significant role that Pretium Packaging plays in sustainable packaging. With 25 plants operating across various countries, Pretium focuses on materials like PET, HDPE, and polypropylene, which have established recycling streams. The episode emphasizes the importance of holistic evaluations for packaging solutions, where data-driven lifecycle assessments (LCAs) are key. This episode is a treasure trove of information for anyone interested in sustainable packaging, offering practical advice and insights for businesses looking to enhance their packaging sustainability.Key Takeaways:* Holistic Approach to Sustainability: Pretium focuses on a full lifecycle analysis of packaging solutions to determine the best materials and practices for sustainability.* Influence of EU Trends: Sustainability trends and regulations from the EU often make their way to the US, and having a presence in both regions helps companies like Pretium stay ahead.* Design for Recyclability: Designing packaging for end-of-life recyclability is crucial, including considering components like labels, adhesives, and inks to avoid contamination of the recycling stream.* Customer Education and Support: Many companies rely on Pretium for guidance on sustainability due to the complexity of regulations and the need for tailored solutions.* Progress Over Perfection: Incremental changes in packaging, such as incorporating PCR and lightweighting, can significantly enhance sustainability without complete overhauls.Notable Quotes:* "I think the LCAs have helped us do that. The issue that we have a lot right now is perception." - Lisa Huett* "Customers want to be more sustainable and comply with legislation, but they just don't know where to start." - Lisa Huett* "You have to be material agnostic and approach it holistically. Maybe it's not plastic. Maybe it's aluminum or glass." - Lisa Huett* "Designing for end-of-life recyclability has to be part of the conversation." - Lisa Huett* "If we could all do a little bit, I feel like things could be, we could be moving maybe a little bit faster, especially on that recycling part." - Lisa HuettResources:* Pretium Packaging* Adam Peek on LinkedIn* Follow Lisa Huett on LinkedIn for more sustainable packaging insights.Stay tuned for more enlightening discussions and explore the depth of sustainable packaging to drive our planet towards a greener future. Listen to the full episode and continue following the People of Packaging Podcast for more industry insights. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.packagingisawesome.com/subscribe

Discuss your packaging with Evelio Mattos Tom Jackson is the co-founder of Honest Ocean, a company focused on managing the supply chains of recycled plastics from source to manufacturing. Based in Indonesia, Tom works closely with local communities and recycling centers to collect and process ocean-bound plastics, aiming to transform waste into valuable materials for various industries. In this enlightening episode, Evelio Mattos sits down with Tom Jackson, co-founder of Honest Ocean, to discuss the harsh realities of plastic pollution in Indonesia and its devastating impact on the environment and local communities. Tom shares his journey from working on private superyachts to founding a company dedicated to recycling and repurposing ocean-bound plastic, offering insight into the complexities and challenges of the recycling process. Throughout the conversation, Tom explains how Honest Ocean collaborates with local coastal communities to collect plastics, which are then processed and sold to brands committed to sustainability. He touches on the dire state of Indonesian beaches, clogged with waste, and highlights the importance of creating a circular economy. The episode delves into the technical aspects of processing different types of plastics and the efforts to find innovative solutions for unrecyclable waste. Tom also discusses the crucial role of technology and the need for significant investment to effectively tackle plastic pollution on a global scale. Plastic Pollution Crisis: Indonesia's beaches are inundated with plastic waste, significantly affecting local communities and the environment. Community Collaboration: Honest Ocean empowers local communities by employing them in the collection and processing of ocean-bound plastics. Comprehensive Recycling: The company processes a variety of plastics, including PET, PP, and HDPE, and is working on solutions for unrecyclable waste. Impactful Partnerships: Brands can significantly contribute to environmental sustainability by sourcing recycled plastics from Honest Ocean, creating positive social and economic effects. Innovative Solutions Needed: There is a pressing need for advanced technology and investment to manage and repurpose waste efficiently. "Now you change it from fish to plastic and try to pay them, if not more than what they were getting it for before." - Tom Jackson "The first seven to eight foot of the beach is plastic mixed in with that seaweed." - Tom Jackson "United States, UK, Germany, we're all still exporting waste to countries like Indonesia." - Tom Jackson "Changing lives through plastic collection, it's not just plastic recycling." - Tom Jackson "We're not at that scale. You know, we do a couple of hundred tons a month, and that really takes up all of our time." - Tom Jackson Tom Jackson on LinkedIn Delve into the full episode to uncover the fascinating journey of turning ocean-bound plastic waste into valuable resources and the significant strides Honest Ocean is making towards a sustainable future. Stay tuned for more insightful episodes from our podcast/web series. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/packagingunboxd/message

Thank you to our Poly Podcast sponsor WL Plastics.

Jimmy's speech from the 2023 Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame ceremony in Lexington, KY on November 2, 2023. Jimmy Kirchdorfer Chairman & CEO, ISCO Industries, Inc. James Kirchdorfer, Jr. (or Jimmy as he's known) is the chairman and CEO of ISCO Industries. A proud alum of the Catholic school system in Louisville, Kentucky, Jimmy then went on to graduate with a degree in business from Miami University. Jimmy began his career at ISCO in the early 90s, working summers during college. In 1993, he became one of the first ISCO sales representatives to live outside of Louisville. Working his way through the ranks, he was named general manager, then president, and has been Chairman and CEO since 2010. With humble beginnings in a family hardware store, ISCO has seen tremendous growth over the years and has become a global leader in HDPE piping solutions. In 2022, along with three other partners, Jimmy purchased Valhalla Golf Club. He is the General Chair of the 2024 PGA Championship. He was named Ernst & Young 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year for the Kentucky/Ohio region, named one of the Most Admired CEOs by Louisville Business First Magazine in 2019, received the 2020 J.W. Janes award for his contribution to the growth of amateur golf in Kentucky, and was inducted into the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame 2021 class. Jimmy currently serves on several boards, primarily supporting youth golf programs and advancing educational opportunities in Kentucky. He resides in Louisville with his wife, Dana, and their two children, Jay and Emma. Links: • Jimmy Kirchdorfer's Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame profile --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/awesomeinc/message

Welcome back to another episode of the Sprinkler Nerd Show. I'm your host Andy Humphrey. This is episode 144 coming to you on Friday, almost a live Friday. We're gonna get this one aired within the next two hours. So if you're listening to it on Friday, this episode is being recorded at 9.32 a.m. And I'm joined today by My good friend, Paul Bassett, who joined me last week in my hometown of Traverse City, Michigan for the Iceman Cometh Race. Paul is a survivor. We may talk about that a little bit today, but while he was visiting, we had this idea to record an episode calling it kind of like Irrigators Top 10, and these would be sort of 10 facts that we should all have readily available in our mind at any moment without having to open. a book. So we're going to kind of talk today about 10 things all irrigators and or landscapers who do irrigation should kind of just know. So Paul, welcome. Paul Bassett (01:12.718) Oh, Andy, it's always good to hear from you and be with you and come up with these fantastic new topics to do a podcast on. As we were preparing this, I've been in the irrigation business 35 years, so you would think these would all be at the top of mind. As you go through life, sometimes you forget or you don't always use these calculations every day. So it was a very good reminder for me to be able to have these at the top of my fingers and be able to... the pull them out so probably one thing we should do is text these outer get these the folks and you know have them put it on a screenshot and have it available. Andy (01:51.774) Yeah, because I mean, really sometimes when you're in the field, you got to make changes to a design, or you want to run a quick calculation for a customer to run an estimate or an ROI. And you can't always just Google something and find it and figure it out or pull out your design book. And so we kind of thought there are some things. We tried to think of 10, of course, to make this episode a 10 list, which was actually kind of hard. If you're listening to this and you've got other ideas, let us know because this was just a list that we put together kind of top of mind. And when we get started, you'll see that this list is, we're trying to make it sort of memorizable things versus concepts. But I think there are a couple that are concept based, but we really think that these are just sort of the, you know, if we were in school, these would be things you would memorize and there would be, and you would put on a test. You would be asked these questions and you commit them. to memory, sort of like, you know, how many states are there in the United States? That would be a fact that you'd commit to memory that everyone would know. Just common knowledge. And so maybe that's what we need to call this, sort of like common knowledge facts that irrigators should have top of mind. Paul Bassett (03:08.834) Or as you say with this particular topic, common knowledge concepts or constants. I even, constants, common knowledge constants in the irrigation industry. And all of these numbers and calculations that we're gonna discuss are all in tests that we've taken in the irrigation industry, whether it's a certified irrigation designer, contractor, and all of these are extracts from any of the textbooks that we've ever read. Andy (03:15.834) Constance, right. Constance. Paul Bassett (03:38.422) be a part of. Andy (03:40.894) Mm hmm. So I think what we should do is, well, first of all, let me congratulate you on finishing the Iceman Cometh race. I'm really impressed because you didn't even hesitate when race registration opened. You signed up and this was six months prior. And this is no joke of a race 30 miles point to point in the woods with 5000 other riders and you just signed up without any hesitation. You flew your bike out to Michigan and. Boom, you'd finished the race, so congrats, man. Paul Bassett (04:11.358) Yeah, and it was super fun and I can't wait to do this. Hopefully every year for the rest of my life. I got the bug. It was good to hang out with you and all your friends in Michigan. And I am so excited about next year. I definitely going to do a little bit more training and hopefully my neck won't be as jacked as it has been this last year. So can't wait, dude. Andy (04:33.09) Yep, anybody who's into biking that happens to be listening to this, check out iceman.com. And if you're interested, register and we will, you know, get a tent for us irrigators and throw a party in the woods in Michigan after the bike race. It'd be a heck of a lot of fun even if we just got two or three other people into biking. You want to come to Michigan and hang out next year with Paul and I in the woods for Paul Bassett (04:58.422) Can't wait, man. Andy (05:00.246) Okay, so I think that to kind of set the tone for this, I'm going to say the first one that I want to use to let people kind of understand what we're talking about. So here would be a for instance, you're on a project and you take a static pressure reading and then you see that there's a slope on the hill and it looks to be about 20 feet of elevation from where you took your static pressure reading to the bottom of the hill. what is it that all irrigators should know about pressure as it relates to elevation that they should commit to memory so that if you take a pressure reading at the top of the hill, you can calculate what your pressure will be at the bottom of the hill. Paul Bassett (05:47.882) Very good. And yes, this is definitely something, especially if you live, not necessarily in your neck of the woods, Andy, where it's flat and in Michigan, where you are. Andy (05:56.238) Yeah, but even 10 feet, right? 10 feet to the eye over a distance can look flat. So, you know, many sites have elevation, even if it's only enough where you might need a check valve or something in a sprinkler. But using the what do we want to call this the constant of pressure due to pressure loss, or gain due to gravity, I guess is where I'm going with this would be the constant that everybody should know. and I would say first and foremost they should commit like a half psi. If they can remember 0.5 psi that's the easiest one but then the actual number is 0.433 psi loss per foot of elevation or gained per foot of elevation. Paul Bassett (06:46.038) And that's what I've always really put in my mind as I'm doing calculations is half a pound per every foot of elevation. And it makes it easier round. At least you got a little buffer, especially if nowadays, and I know I think you and I really going to talk more about the residential element on this to make it more simplified for people. But, you know, we do a lot of work in commercial and there's a lot that's happening in what we do with green roofs and got to get water to a top of a building. Now that's a hundred. Andy (06:51.992) Right. Paul Bassett (07:16.362) stories or whatever it is. So you're like, oh. Andy (07:18.736) Even if it's six, right? Even if it's 30 feet or 20 feet. Paul Bassett (07:22.338) I mean, it's a big loss, right? And, you know, we're going to need pumps to get the water pressure unless the building has a booster pump. So a lot of this has to do with making sure you overcome the pressure losses of elevation in your calculations so you don't get stuck. Andy (07:35.034) Yep. And coming out of a pond, you know, a lot of municipal sites have, you know, secondary sources and a lot of times the pond are at the bottom of a slope. That because generally where you know, the water collects. So whether it's retention basin or a pond, you know, it's good to take that into consideration. What is the elevation of the pump? What is the elevation that it needs to get to? And you can quickly run that calculation by remembering, you know, one half pound of pressure for every foot. of elevation, either gain or loss. So now that's an easy one. Probably all you guys listening, that's an easy one. But if not, just remember, half a pound of pressure and the actual number is 0.433, but a half pound will always cover you because it's a greater value than the actual value. Okay. So let's go to a second example, number two. Do you have one, Paul? Paul Bassett (08:07.007) Easy way to do it, Andy. Paul Bassett (08:30.166) I do. And this comes in a lot of times when you're on a property or you're with a homeowner and they say, well, how much water do I need to apply in my landscape in a given week? What do you do? Oh, let me run the math. Well, first of all, we need to know how big is your property. And one of the calculations that we use is how many square feet are in an acre. And this is something that we We should all try to commit the memory so you know exactly how much water you need to apply, but you know, 43, 560 is that's how many square feet are in an acre and these are the numbers that you need to be able to have when you calculate how much water is being applied. So you can say, well, I have a half an acre of property. Okay. Well you divide, you know, the 43, 560 and half, and then that's your square footage and then well, how much water do we need a week? We're going to calculate one inch of week. And then we should be able to determine from there how much water that site needs in a week. And you can tell your customer, here's how much you'll be expecting to pay in water per week in the growing season. Andy (09:36.418) Now you just covered a whole bunch of shit. Not only the $43,560, but one inch of water, you know, breaking it down to square feet and then telling them how much that's going to cost. That is a whole episode right there. So I'm going to just make a note on that. Paul Bassett (09:50.19) I did probably overwhelm. Yes, apologize on that. Andy (09:54.006) Oh good, man, I love it. So 43,560 square feet in one acre. That's what we think is that you should commit to memory. How many square feet in an acre? And. Paul Bassett (10:06.954) Yeah, and again, what happens too is like a lot of guys and gals are out here when we work in athletic fields, they're going to consume a bunch of water and they're a large area. So this is really where I first started understanding the square footage when we started doing soccer and football and baseball fields because you got such a large area, it's way more than a half an acre. So you got lots of acreage and the client wants to know how much water are we going to be putting down? How much do we need? So that's where those numbers come in handy more specifically then, than when you're doing residential. Andy (10:39.878) Okay, I think that then rolls into our third constant, which you kind of started alluding to when you said, you know, how much water is one inch, you know, for gallons. So I think the next thing that should be committed to memory is how many gallons is one acre inch, one inch of water over an acre. How many gallons is that? Paul Bassett (11:07.498) And one of the things again, for those of us who haven't been into the irrigation show or the conference or taking classes, these are all things that, that like page one and two of our books that go through all these content and then they reiterate it throughout. And, and I think Andy, you did the same with our numbers that a half of a pound per foot will we know that the physical number of an acre inch is 27,154. Who wants to remember 154 all the time is so hard. Is it 154? Is it 560? So Andy and I make it easy. It's 27,000 gallons. Just like a half a pound. Then that's about right. But it is the actual number is 27,154 and that's how many gallons of water it would take to cover an inch of land over one acre. Andy (11:38.61) Mm-hmm. Andy (11:45.834) Mm-hmm. 27,000 gallons. Andy (12:01.686) Yep, so if your client has a half acre lot and they're just, you know, again using one inch as an estimate, this might be more, might be less, but annualized, let's just say it's an inch over half an acre, then you can take 27,000 gallons, divide it by two, right? You get 13,500 and that would be one inch of water for half an acre. So knowing those constants in your mind would allow you to do some quick math on the fly without opening up any design books. Paul Bassett (12:31.714) And then why would you apply one inch of water? Where does one inch come from, Andy? Why would we apply an inch? Where does that come from? Andy (12:39.484) Oh man, you're gonna test me in front of all these people listening? It's the plant water requirement, right? On the average for, I believe, cool season turf, one inch of water per week. And then again, in the summer, based on the actual evapotranspiration rate, it could be an inch and a half or it could be more. And in the spring, it could be a quarter of an inch or one inch, but when you annualize it, that is the number one inch that is used for, you know, sort of quick math, if you will. Paul Bassett (13:08.046) Well, you said a calculation or term in your discussion point here of evapotranspiration. What are the four things that create evapotranspiration? Andy (13:19.954) Cool, well, let's make that our next, you know, not a constant, but the next sort of fact that every irrigator should know is what is ET, evapotranspiration, and then what you said, what are the four variables that make up evapotranspiration for climate, you know, weather variables that make it up. So we have air temperature. humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation. So those... What's up? Paul Bassett (13:57.386) Rainfall's not in that, Andy. Rainfall's not in that. Andy (14:01.894) rainfall would be considered like the counterbalance. So rainfall is used to fill the bucket up, but those four variables are used to calculate the bucket depletion, if you will. So those variables calculate the depletion. Rainfall then fills it back up. So if you had one inch of depletion and you had one inch of rainfall, then you have zero. The water requirement is balanced out. But evapotranspiration is just water loss. It doesn't have rainfall. Rainfall is just the added value to help estimate the water needed. But it's not a part of the actual evapotranspiration equation. Paul Bassett (14:50.326) Excellent discussion point, Andy, because sometimes people forget that rainfall is not calculated in ET. It's also sometimes kind of hard to figure out where to get ET data from. It's not like we can go ping a source and we have it all over the country. You have to go find it and it has to be a good reliable source. I think more and more people are starting to... Andy (15:14.031) Yeah. Paul Bassett (15:16.822) give access to ET so it's becoming readily available for us. Andy (15:22.09) It is kind of wild, you know, even when you think about all these smart controllers out there in the world, which when we say smart controller, that means many things to many people. There's really no good quantifiable definition of a smart controller, but it just amazes me that even on the screen, let's just take Hydrawise. Sorry, Hunter, I'm just using this as an example. On the screen of the Hydrawise controller, why doesn't it just show you the ET value? Like we need to put that in front of people so that they understand why it's doing what it's doing. Show me on the screen what you know yesterday's ET is. Paul Bassett (15:48.62) I know. Paul Bassett (15:57.09) Very good suggestion, Hunter. Andy (15:59.27) So, and Hunter, anyone, right? We should just put it out there. It's as important as how many gallons of water did I use yesterday. Paul Bassett (16:08.718) Well, I know Andy, we've been kind of talking about some of the little more advanced constants in the irrigation, but let's talk about some that are a little bit easier, which folks really should know as well. And what we're going to do is there's a lot of different pipe types in the world. And we, you and I, when we did this discussion, we wanted to pick something that's a little on the simpler side. So for those who use poly pipe or HDPE. forgive us, but we just chose schedule 40 PVC is our constant pipe type and it's going to be an average PSI 50. But you know, folks should know how much water does a one inch piece of schedule 40 pipe flow through at a standard pressure? I mean, because when you're out in the field and you're looking at how many heads are on a zone and you know the pipe size and you say, well, What, why is there 20 gallons a minute flowing on this one inch piece of pipe? And I have absolutely terrible pressure because that pipe should only be running 13 gallons a minute. Now you have 20 and you gotta make an adjustment. You gotta fix it. So, you know, that's something that's really important for all of you listening out there. How much water can we flow through our pipe? Andy (17:17.072) Right. Andy (17:27.186) Mm-hmm. And we'll have to save this for another episode where maybe we talk about the concepts versus the facts. So you and I wrote down that we thought it would be important, again, mostly residential speaking to know the maximum flow rate for schedule 41 inch at 13 gallons a minute and the maximum flow rate for three quarter inch schedule 40 at eight gallons a minute. But the most important thing is to know how to find this. where to look, how to find this, and that would be, you know, understanding a friction loss chart. And friction loss charts are in the back of every manufacturer's catalog, most manufacturers catalogs. And it's important not to exceed a certain velocity. So, you know, this will lead into the next sort of constant that we want to talk about. But the maximum flow rate is determined by the velocity Paul Bassett (17:56.097) Yes. Andy (18:25.286) the pipe such that it puts less stress on the fittings and less stress on the systems with water not moving as quickly through the pipe. And so we think that all irrigators should know what is the maximum velocity in feet per second that is used in these friction loss charts. So why don't you tell us what that maximum velocity should be? Paul Bassett (18:50.838) Well, it's funny you say that because, you know, always handy for me is my book, constant book, that I have to reference all the time because I'm looking up charts. So when you look at, okay, well, we were gonna use one inch PVC, you go down in your chart book, you go, okay, well, what is the flow rate of it? And in all of the books and charts you see, it's five feet per second is the standard in the irrigation industry of how fast that you're going to move the water through the pipe to ensure that the fittings aren't damaged, the valves aren't damaged, you don't have excessive pressure and water hammer. So five feet per second is what's going to allow us to get our 13 gallons a minute through our schedule 40 PVC. Andy (19:38.054) right five feet per second. Five feet per second guys five feet per second. What's so fascinating too is when you look at friction loss charts, the friction loss going from like a one inch pipe to an inch and a quarter pipe when you're at that five feet per second is a big deal. You might go from three psi loss per hundred feet to you know or to one psi loss per hundred feet by upsizing And it's a great example of how faster moving water creates a lot more friction loss. Going back to your point, Paul, if you're running twice the volume of water that you should be through a size pipe, your velocity increases tremendously, which then causes there to be a lot of friction loss. And that's why you put too many heads on a zone. It just doesn't balance out and you get poor performance because of all that friction loss. Paul Bassett (20:38.474) And I've seen this way too often in the 30 some years that I've been doing this. The client goes, why isn't my sprinklers working properly? What is going on? Do I need a booster pump? No, we need to split the zone. Well, what's that going to cost? Right? You always hear that. Well, I'm sorry, but you know, somebody tried to get away with doing something that they shouldn't have, and now you need to split the zone and out of out. We don't need a pump. We just need to split the zone. And the thing that we're trying to really encourage here is, you know, just do the math. Andy (20:50.917) Yeah. Andy (21:02.159) Mm-hmm. Paul Bassett (21:07.358) It's not that hard. We all have smartphones They can easily go in and plug in some numbers and calculate what you actually need to put on a zone Andy (21:14.69) Yep. And we know that the smartest irrigators listen to this show. So we know that you guys understand what we're talking about. But what we really want is for you to know, and we think that you do, you know, why? Because we still, there are still installers out there that if you were to ask this question, how many heads can you put on a zone, they're going to say, I put four rotors on the zone. Why? Well, because that's what my boss told me to do. Well, do you know why? Nope, my boss just says four heads on his own. but they don't know why there's four heads on a zone. And so that's the most critical thing is to understand the concepts so that you can decide if you're gonna put two or if you're gonna put 20, because you know why and then you know how, and then you understand the entire hydraulic, you know, makeup of the system. Paul Bassett (22:02.862) Well, Andy, what if a customer says, hey, man, my water bill is excessive this past summer because they get billed every quarter. And then they say, can you take a look at our water bill? And they send you the water bill and the water bill, the municipality measures the water in cubic feet instead of gallons, which is a lot of times through most jurisdictions is their water meters measuring cubic feet. And then you got to do the math to figure out, well, what the heck? How many gallons is that? And this, so there's a few constants that are in there that all of us, irrigators must know when we are analyzing a water bill or we get measurements in cubic feet. And so what do you think those are, Andy? Andy (22:45.074) Mm-hmm. Yep, well, because I just asked Google, and we know that's what you guys would do and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I use Google all the time to run conversions, but knowing that one cubic foot, one cubic foot, one box, right, one box of water is 7.48 gallons. 7.48 gallons, and then I think some meters. Paul Bassett (22:55.094) zero. Andy (23:13.118) also record in 100 cubic feet or the bill may come in the form of 100 cubic feet. So then you can just take 7.48 times 100 and you get 748 gallons in 100 cubic feet. Paul Bassett (23:27.67) And you see, we see that all the time. I mean, you and I run math and looking at utility bills and going, ah, man, these guys with their cubic feet again. But I've seen a lot of municipalities now are making it a little more simplified where they actually will do the conversion for you on the utility bill to show you. Here it is in cubic feet and here it is in gallons so that you don't have to do the math, which is, you know, better for us folks in the U S Andy (23:47.034) Mm-hmm. Andy (23:50.866) I know. It makes you wonder why it's like that. It's one thing. I mean, I understand because that's what the meter records it in. So that's what they reported in. But the benefit to the utility is that a lot of consumers don't understand what that means. They don't even know what their water bill is. They don't know how many gallons they're using. So they don't even know if they're using the right amount because those numbers don't mean anything. But you know, it would just be easier if they turned it into what people recognize gallons on every water bill. Paul Bassett (24:10.219) Right. Paul Bassett (24:19.786) Well, I think, Andy, from what I recall, that back in the day, way before you and I, that all this water was measured via agriculture. And agriculture used the cubic feet because they had big canals, they had big reservoirs, and the reservoirs were all measured that way. So as we started putting meters on things, that was the simplified form back in the day to be able to do it in cubic feet. Paul Bassett (24:49.802) measured in gallons. But that is really the reason why it's in cubic feet, not to think that the municipality is trying to pull one over on you or think, you know, we don't know what we're doing. But it was really an old agricultural calculation done back in the day. Andy (25:02.822) And then to just mechanically on the meters, if it was gallons, you would need a few more number, a few more dials, you know, to because the number is going to be a lot bigger. So you may need a couple more zeros, you know, on the meter reading to actually read that high right of a volume. Cool, okay, well staying in water, this one is related to irrigation, but it's more of just knowing about water. It might relate to irrigation when it comes to how much a cistern might weigh when it's full of water, but I think it's nice to understand the actual weight of water in terms of how heavy, what does one gallon of water weigh? Paul Bassett (25:47.954) And not only should you know it here, but when you go pick up a gallon of milk, okay, well, how much does that weigh when you got to carry it, or if you want to carry two gallons of milk, but it also really relates to the pressure that particular amount of water weighs when it creates pressure. So when you're talking an inch or a foot of water, it creates a certain amount of weight that then creates pressure. Andy (26:14.77) Mm-hmm. Paul Bassett (26:14.966) So all of us should know that a gallon of water is 8.34 pounds. Or for us easy mathematicians, it's about eight pounds. So it's eight pounds. Yeah. Andy (26:22.798) eight pounds. Yeah. Yep. Again, it's just nice to know about water moving water moving water in motion. What does water way just good to know some water values. Paul Bassett (26:33.31) And then, you know, I think this is the one constant that inspired this whole episode really was, you know, we were doing some calculations on, you know, how much does fuel in an airplane weigh? Because you got to do weight balance and your wife said, oh, fuel is 6.1 pounds. I'm like, wow, fuel is less than water. That's because water is 8.3. So, you know, fuel is, ah, this sounds like a great episode, Andy. Let's Andy (26:46.052) Right. Andy (26:54.65) Makes sense. Yeah. Andy (27:00.47) No wonder water no wonder fuel floats on the top of water. I think it does anyway. So all right, well, I think we got our last one here, which is actually more of a concept because these values can change. And so what we thought is that, you know, every irrigator should know the general precipitation rates of drip sprays and rotors. And again, this has a range, but knowing the precipitation rate of those devices is really important as it relates to scheduling and to understand the reason why you zone things separately, because that's sort of the foundation of zoning things separately outside of the plant material is you want to have the same precipitation rate of all devices on one zone. So what should we use for general precipitation rates of drip spray rotor? Paul Bassett (28:09.522) What I've always done when I calculate things is, again, I try to make it simple for me as well. So sprays, I've always used the constant of an inch and a half. And then rotors is about a half an inch. And then drip is somewhere between another half an inch, right? So... Andy (28:28.962) Yeah, and that's the drip is kind of the craziest thing because I still, it is still very common and popular for contractors to install 0.9 by 12 inch spacing, right? Inline drip, whatever the brand might be, 0.9 by 12. And they don't realize that is an inch an hour, 0.9 by 12. Actually, I think it's even more than that. But then they'll say, yeah, drip, I usually set my drip zones for about 45 minutes because it comes out slowly. And it's like, well, not at that flow rate in spacing. It doesn't. And that's where Drip, that's where some misnomers are because you could also use a 0.26 by 18 inch spacing. And now you have a pre-sip rate that's more like 0.3 and you should run it a lot longer. Where Drip, you gotta really understand what you're doing because the range is so different. But I think, like you said, generally, it would be more like 0.4 or so, 0.5. Paul Bassett (29:28.354) I mean, but for this particular discussion, again, we're trying to just make it some simple rules of thumb, sprays and half an inch an hour, I mean, inch and a half an hour, sorry, and then rotors half an inch an hour. And that way you can easily do some simple calculations. Sure, it's going to vary depending on spacing and pressure and whatnot, but, you know, we're just looking for simple concepts here. Andy (29:47.31) Yeah, yeah. And, you know, Paul and I spent some time thinking of these things and getting more than 10 seem to be pretty difficult. But sometimes you just can't see outside of the things you've already thought of. So if you're listening to this, and we missed some, let us let us know what you commit to memory. And that you think other irrigators and landscapers should know that are those facts that just commit to memory. Because I'm sure we missed lots and lots. All right, well, I think that covers it, Paul, for these constants. And we got a couple other ideas for a couple future episodes. I really think we should talk a little bit more about giving your customer a water cost analysis. And I would just have to bet that not even one in 100 proposals, new installation proposals, comes with a water cost budget or analysis. Paul Bassett (30:45.954) Probably not. I mean, you know, the challenge with that is when we buy refrigerators now and washing machines and laundry machines, they all come with what they anticipate that we're going to spend in our energy on these. You know, why can't we do the same here with irrigation? It's not that hard. And it would show your customer you care more about them than the final number at the end of the page that you care that. Andy (31:01.742) Right. Yep. Andy (31:10.394) And you know what you're talking about and that you're considering the operational costs of the system. And again, if they're getting a quote, either maintenance quote or new construction quote from three contractors, I bet you your competition isn't doing it. So another great way to stand out is to put together that, you know, cost analysis, operational cost. Paul Bassett (31:31.35) Great nugget from this podcast right there, everyone. Andy (31:35.014) Cool, okay, that's the opener for the next episode. Paul, thank you for brain sharing with me today. Love doing that with you, so thank you. Paul Bassett (31:43.754) can never get enough of doing it as well. Andy (31:46.926) Right on guys. Thank you for listening. Please share this episode with a friend or share it with your grandmother. And like, subscribe, and we'll catch you on the next episode. Paul Bassett (32:00.95) Be a Andy. Have a good day. Bye. Andy (32:01.787) Bye bye.  

High density polyethylene product consumption and market behavior are key indicators for consumer spending. The US and major export outlet Asia are climbing out of a price slump created by HDPE oversupply, attractive cost margins and slow-to-recover demand. With about 1.5 million mt/year of North American ethane-advantaged capacity starting between September and Q1 2024, run rate discipline will be crucial, especially as low prices encourage virgin resin substitution for recyclers despite impending sustainability targets in the US. Global polymers pricing lead Kristen Hays leads a discussion with global sustainable chemicals lead Heng Hui, US polyethylene editor Colleen Ferguson and US recycled polymers senior editor Antoinette Smith about the main drivers behind HDPE prices and what market participants expect in the short-term as the supply and demand dynamic struggles to find equilibrium. Related prices: HDPE Blowmolding FAS Houston (AAWCZ00) Recycled HDPE Natural Pellets FOB Chicago (ARNPA00) DON'T MISS: Chemical Week's Billion-Dollar Club: Ranking the world's top chemical producers

Hear from:  Greg Scoby - Crossbore Consultants Richard Kolasa - WL PlasticsDavid Fink - Plastics Pipe InstituteShoumen Rashid - Sandale Utiliity ProductsRusty Reeves - Core & MainAlan Ambler, PE - PE Alliance  Richard Butler - ISCO AH McElroy Thank you to our Poly Podcast sponsor WL Plastics.

Live from Creedmoor, NC, Video Chicken Live is a fun and informative show about all things chickens and coops. Matt, Kristen, and Ingrid answer your questions. We specialize in chickens and chicken coop construction. Today we answer your questions on chicken keeping and coop building. We take your questions live and answer questions we get on social media and various other platforms. Some questions are basic chicken keeping questions, like how many chickens should you get for a starter flock? How do chickens contribute to the ecosystem? How can I break a broody? Plus questions about what type of blade to use to cut through HDPE? Are ants ok in the nest boxes? Can I keep chickens and bunnies together? Chickens and Guinea hens? We answer as many questions as we can in this fun and informative show.   Call us: 919-794-3989 Check out our website to shop coops!  Shop our Flock Shop See out resources, blogs, & FAQs Follow us: YouTube Instagram TikTok LinkedIn Facebook  Pinterest

According to the World Economic Forum, between 75 and 199 million tons of plastic waste are floating in and polluting the world's oceans. The 5 Gyres Institute reports that the volume of plastic entering the seas doubles every six years. There are genuine efforts to develop circular, sustainable packaging amid waves of greenwashing claims. Meet Vanessa Coleman, CEO of Oceanworks, which collects ocean plastics for recycling that it sells to companies committed to using post-consumer recycled, or PCR, plastics in new products and packaging. Oceanworks has developed a network of partners that collect and recycle plastics found on beaches and in waterways around the world, which the Oceanworks Guaranteed label can identify — these programs' environmental, social, and recycling practices are reviewed regularly. Oceanworks can provide end-to-end audits of its plastics supply chain to inform packaging designers about where the materials they choose are collected, processed, and remanufactured.Oceanworks Guaranteed® certified recycled plastics are used in Glad to be Green products, Sperry Seacycled sneakers, Delta Faucets' Ocean Plastic Shower Head, and many other products. While shoppers can browse these products at Oceanworks' website, the real action happens in the company's online materials catalog. It sells recycled PET (#1), HDPE (#2), and Polypropylene (#5) plastics, as well as recycled yarns and fabrics, bottles, and zippers made from ocean plastics. Product designers and the teams responsible for packaging get access to a wide range of materials that contribute to a cleaner world as long as they continue to be recycled responsibly. We discuss the National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, the potential for “advanced recycling” technologies that promise to make plastic as recyclable as metals, and the environmental and recycling impacts of plastics and the additives they contain.You can learn more about Oceanworks at https://oceanworks.co/

Episode Summary This week on Live Like the World is Dying, Sean teaches Margaret about brewing alcohol. They talk about fermentation in general and then walk though how to make beer and cider. Guest Info Sean (he/him) can be found at https://seanvansickel.com/ Host Info Margaret can be found on twitter @magpiekilljoy or instagram at @margaretkilljoy. Publisher Info This show is published by Strangers in A Tangled Wilderness. We can be found at www.tangledwilderness.org, or on Twitter @TangledWild and Instagram @Tangled_Wilderness. You can support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/strangersinatangledwilderness. Transcript Live Like the World is Dying: Sean on Brewing Margaret: Hello, and welcome to Live Like the World is Dying, your podcast for what feels like the end times. This week we're talking about fermentation. We're talking about little things that eat things and then poop out alcohol. I actually don't really know because I'm the one who's going to be asking these questions and I record these introductions before I actually do the interview. So, I'm going to be learning more about fermentation and we're gonna be talking about alcohol, but we're also gonna be talking about all kinds of other stuff too. And I think you'll get a lot out of it. And first, we're a proud member of the Channel Zero Network of anarchists podcasts and here's a jingle from another show on the network. La la la, la la la la [Margaret making musical melody sounds] Margaret: Okay, we're back. And so if you could introduce yourself with your name, your pronouns, and then I guess like a little bit about how you got into fermentation? Sean: So my name is Sean. Pronouns are he/him. Well, I actually started with, with cider and mead because I had a harder time finding commercially available cider and mead that wasn't just kind of like a novelty product or obscenely expensive, you know, imported from like Basque country or whatever. So that's, that was kind of where I got my, my kickoff on fermentation. I worked in commercial fermentation doing sour beer production as well as like conventional clean, you know, canned beer, and then actually worked in sales and distribution with beer for a while. Margaret:Okay, so this is really exciting because I've always kind of wanted to get into this. Well, I've kind of wanted to get into everything, which is the whole reason I started this podcast, so I could ask people about how to do things. But fermentation...so you can format things and it makes them different? What is fermentation? Sean: So fermentation basically is either yeast or bacteria breaking down almost always some form of sugar or carbohydrate. The main thing that is being produced by that is co2. But a nice little side effect that is often produced is alcohol, right, or lactic acid is often produced especially in the presence of bacteria, specifically in the presence of lactic acid producing bacteria. We call them you know, LAB is the abbreviation that's used. So, fermentation is happening generally-when people are referring to it--they're referring to yeast fermentation. So the most common yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, right, beer yeast. It's the same. It's called beer yeast. But that's the same yeast that's used to ferment wine. It's used to ferment like a sour mash, if you're, you know, making whiskey in a legal distillation situation as opposed to you know, the other distillation situation. It is illegal to distill alcohol for home use in the US. So, yeah, you have to be very careful you don't do that. On Accident. Margaret:Yeah, we won't cover that for a while. Sean: Yeah, right. Margaret: Okay, wait, is this the same yeast as like sourdough and all of that? Sean: It's very, very close. So sourdough is--especially if you make like a if you'd like a sourdough starter capture right from the air... I have not done this. It's something I've wanted to do. I've captured wild yeast for brewing from the air but never for baking. But they are a similar blend of airborne yeast, so you'll have wild yeast. You'll have wild Saccharomyces cerevisiae as well as wild other yeasts, Brettanomyces. Yeast strains are very common in air. And then you'll also have lactic acid bacteria in the air. So these are those rod shaped bacteria that are active in the absence of oxygen. They're anaerobic bacteria. So, they will continue to acidify things, even when there is no oxygen present to like kind of fuel or catalyze that reaction in a way that regular beer yeast, or even bread yeast, baking yeast, right, won't necessarily be able to do. Margaret: I'm really not used to the idea of thinking about bacteria as a positive thing. Sean: Right. No. So they are extremely a positive thing, Lactic acid bacteria, because they drop the pH as well. And lower pH means you don't have to worry about like botulism, for example. You know, so that's definitely a benefit. Most spoilage...So one number I'm going to be saying probably a few times is 4.2. 4.2 is like the pH level, below which you have a greater degree of protection because of the acidity, right. Margaret: Okay. Cause botulism doesn't like hanging out in there? Sean: Botulism is...I'm not 100% sure if it's the pH, the alcohol, or both. But botulism does not like low pH, nor does it like high ABV. So these are, these are both good ways of protecting yourself from that. Margaret: So it's that kind of...so fermentation probably comes originally, basically...Well, probably by accident. But originally probably comes from people just basically desperately trying to figure out how to make sure food doesn't go bad. And this is and fermentation is like, one of the many ways that humans have developed to keep food from going bad? Is that a? Sean: My theory is that's why fermentation stuck around. I think it showed up eventually because human... ancient, you know, human beings, proto humans even, you know, proto hominids realized they could get fucked up with it. Margaret:Yeah. That's fair. Sean: I think that's the key point. Like human nature hasn't changed that much. That will always be the driving influence on novelty, I think. Margaret: So, what are some of the things--I'm going to ask you about some of the specifics about how to do this a little bit--but what are some of the things that you can ferment? I know, you can make sauerkraut and you can make pickles? Nope, that's not fermentation. Sean: No, lacto fermented pickles, absolutely. That's frementation. Margaret: Oh, yeah. No, I totally knew that. That's definitely why I said it. Sean: Not like quick pickling with vinegar in the fridge. That's not an active fermentation process. And I do that too, like quick pickled red onions are like...those go well on everything. But no, like actual, like long term pickling. Hot sauces are a big one. You know, I did a batch of...I grew a bunch of jalapeno peppers. And then I went to like a restaurant supply type grocery store and they had like three or four pound bags of jalapenos for like, you know, they were starting to go off, right, I got them for like, under $1. So I fermented about 40 pounds of jalapenos in a five gallon bucket. And you just make a make of salt brine. Right. Like you can you can look up the levels. I think I did a 3.5% or 4%. saline brine in there. Margaret: I'll ask you the more specifics about how to do it in a bit. Sean: But yeah, so peppers you can do. You can do any kind of...anything that has an naturally occurring sugar usually can be fermented and emits....And when you have high levels of naturally occurring sugar, like the classic example is grapes, you usually are, you know, suspending that sugar and solution, water. Right. And you're making a beverage. Like that's the most classic example. That's, you know, wine, that's beer, that's, you know, fruit wines. You know, there's a lot of rural cultures throughout the world. There's, you know, non-grape wines, right, it's very common mead is another one, right, and probably the oldest. You know, we talked about the, you know, anthropological aspects of fermentation earlier. And, yeah, that's almost certainly we've, you know, a lot of evidence suggests mead, Margaret: Okay. So, when you ferment stuff, how long? What kind of shelf life are you able to get on something like hot sauce or sauerkraut or pickles and things like that? The like food stuff. Sean: Yeah. So you've definitely there are two dates at play here, which is the this is going to, you know, this still tastes really good and this is still a safe source of macronutrients and, you know, and things like that. I've had no decline in flavor with fermented hot sauce. And I usually package the fermented hot sauce in beer bottles with like a beer cap over the top or in a, like, sometimes mason jars as well. But in that packaging, I've not really seen any kind of degradation over like a two year time period, as far as flavor is concerned. It's probably foodsafe not indefinitely but probably at least 10 years. But it is going to depend on your process. It's going to depend on how much oxygen is introduced at packaging It's going to depend on the amount of salt that you have, you know, because salt is usually part of, you know, fermented food preservation and salt is a preservative. So, you know, there's going to be a lot of little factors that are going to affect that aspect of that. Margaret: Okay, but if you if you do it right, you can probably make bottles of stuff and leave them in your basement for like 10 years if you need to? Sean: Yeah, absolutely. Margaret: Fuck yeah. Sean: And that applies to especially lactic acid bacteria fermented alcohol. You know, whether that's like a French or Basque style cider or a sour beer. Those things we're talking, you know, probably a 20 year lifespan. Margaret: Oh, interesting. Okay, as compared to so that's the bacterially fermented? Sean: So the food is bacterially fermented as well. Margaret: But I mean, as compared to regular beer, right? Sean:Yeah. Yeah. Margaret How long does regular beer last? Sean Very high alcohol beer can last just as long because alcohol is a preservative just like salt, you know, the effects that some of these bacteria create. Bacteria and wild yeast like Brettanomyces is oxygen scavenging, right. So when you when it referments, if you re-...it's called bottle conditioning, right, it's where you add a small amount of fermentable sugar to a bottle and then cap it and then it referments in the bottle, you get a tiny layer a yeast at the bottom and it carbonates in the bottle. It's not done as often professionally because it produces pretty inconsistent results. But it is going to increase the lifespan of your beverage exponentially because as part of that like reproductive cycle, oxygen is scavenged and where there's less oxygen there's less spoilage. Margaret: So it's like putting the little oxygen absorber in with your like Mylar bag food only it's... Sean: Except it actually works. Yeah. [Laughing] It's far more effective because it literally is pulling every, almost every last, you know, unit of oxygen out of there and using it to fuel, you know, its own cellular reproduction. So it's not just being like absorbed and held--as much as it can be absorbed and held inert--it's like being used. Margaret: That's cool. Alright, so let's say I want to ferment because I kind of do. Let's start with...I think probably the average listener is probably thinking about how they're going to make beer or wine or things like that. Sean: Ciders probably the easiest. Margaret: Okay, so yeah, I want to make cider. What what do I do? Like what what do I need? How do I get started? Sean: You are in like actual apple country. If I understand correctly. So you have some options that most people don't. Where I am like getting getting really quality fresh pressed apple juice, apple cider, unfermented, right, is is a little bit of a challenge. But the easiest way to do it is to just go to a grocery store, you know, any place where you can get like the half gallon or gallon sized jugs of apple juice. You know, get them when they're on sale, get them in bulk. Use frozen apple juice concentrate if you want. It doesn't really matter. You are going to put that in a five gallon bucket, HDPE, high density polyethylene, plastic, right. It's a food-safe bucket. But like in food service, you see, you see these buckets used for pickles, you see them use for frosting at you know bakeries and things like that. If you want to do some dumpster diving, you can find yourself some of these real easy or if you just have a you know, a friend or member of your community that's, you know, involved or, you know, is working in food service they can probably hook you up with these as well. Worst case scenario, you.... Margaret: I'm looking it up, it's number two on the bottom of a? Like, plastic usually has a recycling symbol. Is it number two? Sean: HDPE? Margaret:Yeah. Sean: I don't remember if that's denoted with a number two, but it's HDPE plastic. Margaret: I just looked it up. Sean:Yeah. And it'll usually be specified as food grade or, you know, if it was used to hold food in the sense of the, you know, recycling and reusing from, you know, food service and like commercial kitchens and things like that, obviously, you know, you're taken care of in that respect. Margaret: I'm trying to look up to see whether like the Lowe's buckets are HDPE or not. Sean: There's two different types. Lowe's did have food grade ones. But the like, kind of universal blue bucket one, I believe it is HDPE but it is not certified food grade. So there might be contaminants in there. So, you would be maybe rolling the dice on that one a little bit. In a survival type situation or something like that, I think that would be fine. But, if you have other options, you know, maybe err on the side of caution. Margaret: Okay, that's good to know. I have a lot of these buckets for a lot of different purposes. Sean: Me too. Yeah. They get a lot of use in the garden. Margaret:Yeah, exactly. Now I'm like oh, are they not food safe. Should I not be growing tomatoes in them? And then I'm like, this is probably over thinking it. Sean: Depending you know, some something that like roots are touching not necessarily that food are touching versus something that you have in acidic and micro biologically active thing churning around that you are then going to drink in large quantities, like you know... Margaret: Okay. No, okay, fair enough. And this has been an aside Okay, so I've gone and gotten some apple juice, or if I'm really lucky I press some apples. And I've got a five gallon bucket and I fill the bucket with apple juice I assume? Sean: So, about four gallons of apple juice. Yeah, you gotta leave yourself some head space because you are going to, you know, have some activity in motion with the yeast. Then you're going to be pitching in yeast. For apple juice for cider you can use champagne yeast, right? That's, a very, very common one. It is a like a specialty product that you need to order online or get from like a homebrew store or a brewing supply store, something like that. You can use just regular like baking yeast, like breadmaker's yeast like Fleischmanns or whatever. It will work. You will get a few like...you're more likely to develop some off flavors, maybe some sulfur type, aromas. Things like that. And then you also might have a less healthy fermentation. So the fermentation might take longer and your final gravity right, the amount of residual sugar left by the fermentation will be higher and the amount of alcohol produced will be a little bit lower. Okay, so that's that's using like bread or baking yeast. If you're using a champagne yeast, you know, wine yeast, beer yeast even you are going to get a faster and much more complete fermentation. Less likely that contamination, if there is any present, will will take hold. Right? Margaret: Okay, what about um, like, let's say the supply chains are all fucked, right and I can't go get yeast. My two questions is one...okay well three questions. Can I use wild yeast? Second question, when you've already made this stuff, can you like reuse pieces of it as the yeast? Like in the same way as you like can with like sourdough or something? And then third question is, can you use a sourdough starter? That one so I'm expecting no. Sean: The answer to all of those is yes, actually. Margaret: Oh, interesting. Sean: And I'll go through one at a time. So your first, if there are supply chain issues, you don't have, or you just in general you don't have access, or you don't want to Margaret: Or you're in a jail cell and making it in the toilet or whatever. Sean: Yeah, right. that's gonna that's gonna have its own very special considerations. But yeah, you can absolutely use wild capture yeast. So the...what I would do with with the equipment that I have, I would get a cake pan and I would put...I would fill it maybe between a quarter inch and a half an inch high full of fermentable liquid, in this case apple juice. I put it outside, ideally on a spring or a fall day when there's no danger of a hard frost, right, either before or after, depending on which shoulder season you're in. But fairly close to that date is when you're going to get the best results. You're going to want to have some kind of a mesh over the top, maybe like a window screen or door screen, you know, screen door type mesh. Margaret: Keep bugs out? Sean: Yep, exactly. Keep bugs out. You want the microscopic bugs not the ones that we can see flying around in there, you know? So leave that out overnight on a cool night. If you have fruit trees, especially vines, any grape vines, anything like that, right under there is ideal. If you don't, just anywhere where there is some, you know, greenery growing. In the wild and you kind of have--not in the wild but you know, outside--in a non sterile, you know, non-contained environment, you're gonna have less luck trying to do this inside or, you know, in like a warehouse building or something like that. Yeah, this is actually, once you have that, you know, you've had it left overnight, decant it into maybe a mason jar or something like that with an airlock. I use like an Erlenmeyer flask just because I have them for other fermentation stuff. And you can with an Erlenmeyer flask, you can drop a magnetic bar in there, put it on a stir plate, and you know, knock the whole process out, you know, 10 times as fast. Obviously not necessary. But, it's a fun little shortcut if you want to, you know, drop $40 or $50 on a stir plate. Margaret: Is that just like a basically like, a magnet? Inside the flask that moves because of a magnet on the plate? Sean: Yep, that's it. Exactly. Margaret: That's Brilliant. Sean: Yeah, so you have like a little bar magnet. It's like coated in like a food safe plastic, right, so it's not gonna scratch anything up. And then you just drop that in, you turn on the plate, it usually has a like potentiometer, like little knob that you can control the speed on. Sometimes if you get the speed up too far, it will throw the magnet and then you've got to recenter it and get it all there. But that's great for, you know, doing your own yeast and bacteria captures. It speeds that up. Margaret: So it's speeding it up because you need to stir it. To go back to the I've just done this without a flask. I've put it in a mason jar. Sean: Yeah, just give it a swirl a couple times a day, give it a couple swirls. It is going to be, you know, working the same way just on a slower timeline. Margaret: And this is a sealed jar? Sean: Sealed, but with an airlock because again, anytime you have fermentation you have CO2 production, it you don't have an air lock, you've just made an improvised explosive device sitting on your kitchen counter. So you don't want that Margaret: Right. Usually not. Okay. So that's the little thing that you see sticking out of carboys where it's a little glass thing with some water in it. The thing goes through where the air bubbles go. Sean: Yeah, it's usually plastic. The most common ones are, it's like an S bend, right? The same kind of thing that you've seen, like sink and toilet plumbing to keep the stinky gas away. The function works the same way that gas can pass through in one direction. Margaret: So basically, you've captured some wild yeast and you've put it in a mason jar with an airlock and then it it...you're feeding it...it feeds off of that for a while and that's how you get your starter? Is that? Sean: Yeah, so that is your yeast. That is your inoculant, your starter? Yeah, but you do need to do a couple things to confirm that that is--because you know, wild captured isn't going to work every single time perfectly. It's why we've you know... Margaret: Why you can go buy champange yeast at a store. Sean: Yeah, everyone uses that. So what you need to do is you need to confirm that the pH is below 4.2. Okay, all right. So... Margaret: It's that magic number. Sean: Yeah, that's the big number for...I think that's what Douglas Adams was talking about, actually, he just probably pulled the decimal point. But no, so you need to make sure it's below 4.2 ph. You can do this with pH testing strips. Litmus paper. You can just, you know, put a drop of it on there and you know, see what color it is. I would advise against using the full pH range like the 0 to 14 ones just because since it is such a wide range, it can be kind of like "Is that greenish brown or is that brownish green?" like that's that's a whole point on the pH scale. The pH scale is logarithmic. So the difference between brownish green and greenish brown is a factor of 10. So like, you know, have a more narrow range. Litmus paper is ideal or a pH meter. They've gotten a lot better in the last five or ten years and a lot cheaper, like we're talking under $20. So those are really...if you're going to be doing fermentation, I would recommend using both just in case there's like a, you know, a calibration error or anything like that. It's just a good way to confirm. Margaret: Okay. Alright, so you've got to now, you know, the pH is under 4.2. What else are we checking? Sean: Yeah, we're also going to just use our olfactory sense. So get your nose in there. And if it smells like rotten eggs and sewage like toss that shit out. There are other bacteria at play that we that we don't want playing in our in our happy little colony here. So that needs to go and instead just, you know, do another capture. You want like fruity aromas, aromas that maybe have some spice or piquancy to them are fine. Like alcohol aromas are really good too, you know, things like that. These are all indicating fermentation production of, you know, of alcohol production of CO2 as well. You want to see that. That's another really good indicator is that and that's why I like those S-bend airlocks as opposed to they also make like a three piece one that just kind of percolates through. The S-bend one is really nice because you can see the CO2 coming through, right, you can see it coming through in bubbles. So you have a visual and audible indicator, right? Like you can hear that there are, you know, 10 or 15 bubbles coming through a minute, right. So you know that there is cellular reproduction happening and fermentation happening. Margaret: This whole thing...I recently recorded an episode about yeast, about sourdough, this is why I keep referencing sourdough. Yeah. And the whole thing is like hard for me to believe is real. Once I start doing it, I'll believe it but wild capture...Like sure the invisible alcohol makers in the sky are just going to turn it...like of course they are. Sean: It feels like some like biohacking, like bio-punk speculative fiction. Yeah. Like it totally does. Margaret:Yeah. But I love...I mean, when I start doing this, I'm gonna go out and buy yeast, right. But I'm much more interested in hobbies that I know that like, I know how I will do without buying chemicals if I have to, you know? Okay, so wild capture and then you said that you can also use... Sean: You can inoculate with stuff that you've already made. Margaret: Yeah. Sean: I think your second question, right. So the example I'll use for this is sour beer, right? I can go out and pick up a bottle of sour beer. I can drink the sour beer and leave just the dregs at bottom. I can swirl that up and I can pitch that into a fermenter and I've just inoculated it. That's it. Margaret: And so it can't be pasteurized, right? Sean: No, no, you don't want to pasteurize. But again, remember, we were talking about bottle conditioning, right. It's a bottle conditioned to beer. So, because it has sugar added to the bottle and it's naturally re fermented in the bottle, you know, built up co2 and nice, pleasant effervescent bubbles in the bottle that means that it is it is fully bioactive. That's great, too, because that...much higher levels of like vitamin B and things like that, as well as a full culture of yeast and bacteria, which are really good for your gut biome, which is also important. So that's why I'm a big fan. Pasteurization definitely helps for like safe transportation and breweries not getting sued when their bottles explode and leave glass in people's hands and things like that. Margaret: And so for anyone listening, pasteurization is where you treat it so that everything's dead inside, right? Sean: With heat. Margaret: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sean: Yeah, exactly. They slowly increase the pressure in increments that you don't notice until you find that everything is completely dead. Margaret:Yeah. Okay. Cool. And safe for capitalism. Sean: And safe for capitalism. Absolutely. Yep. [laughing] Margaret: Cool. All right. So once we've domesticize, the bottles of beer...okay, anyway. Sean: Yeah, so we want to avoid pasteurization unless absolutely necessary because then the product is less healthy for us and it's less useful for us in the future. We can't use it to inoculate other other batches. If I were going to be doing that, I would--I mean, again, going back to that stir plate, I'm talking about an ideal situation--I would add some of that to unfermented beer or cider on the stir plate and let that go because that's going to get my yeast and bacteria cell count up very, very high. That's going to ensure the fermentation and acidification start quick and finish strong. Margaret: Okay. And so is there any like...Is it just a taste difference if you were to like....if I were to go get sour beer and then dump it, you know, do everything you just said, and then dump it in as my starter for some cider, would it just be like weird? Or would it be fine? Or like. Like mixing flavors and mediums or whatever it would be called? Sean: Oh, so like fermentables. Like a mix of apples and malt for example. Margaret: Well, so it's like if I'm using...if the yeast I have access to is I drank a sour beer and I have what's left, right. But what I have access to to ferment is apple juice. Can I use that to ferment the apple juice? Sean: Absolutely. Margaret: And will it taste really wild and different? Or is it just kind of yeast is yeast? Sean: Not especially. Sour beers is yeast and bacteria. So you have yeast and bacteria at play. Margaret: Can I make make sour cider? Sean: Yeah. Because there's already both malic acid and lactic acid naturally present in apple juice, using lactic acid producing bacteria doesn't make it seem as sour as like sour beer, right? Because it's already, there's already these natural acids at play. In beer, like the pH of non-sour beer, it's lower than like water, but it's not low enough that our brains register as sour. So, when you apply those bacteria to a, you know, fermented malt liquid, it's such a huge gulf between non-sour bees and sour beer. Non-sour cider and sour cider are kind of adjacent more. There is one other little factor though, that ties into what you brought up, which is that yeast and bacteria over time are going to adapt to perform ideally in the fermentable that they have reproduced in. So, if you are reusing like a culture, and I'm going to use the word culture rather than yeast or bacteria because it's almost always a combination of bacteria and multiple yeast, right? If your culture has optimized itself to reproduce and to, you know, churn through the fermentables in beer, right, you have a lot of longer chain carbohydrates in beer than you do in fruit juice whether that's apple or grape, right? So they're going to evolve to deal with those and, you know, when you switch from one to the other, your first fermentation might be a little bit sluggish. Still perfectly viable. Margaret: So, okay, so to go back to where we're at in the stage. I really actually like...I think probably most of this episode will be just literally us walking through the steps of making some cider, but we're gonna learn so much along the way. I'm really excited about it. Sean: I'm here for it. I'm here for it. Margaret: Yeah. So okay, so you've gotten your apple juice, you've gotten your starter yeast. Ideally, you went and got champagne yeast, but maybe it's the end of the world and you wild captured or maybe you just don't want to do that. My plan is to start the easy way and then try the hard way later. Sean: Yep. Good. It's good to....You're more likely to keep going if your first endeavor is successful. Margaret: If I succeed. Yeah, that's my theory. Okay, now I've got my five gallon bucket. I've added yeast. I'm closing it and putting a little S... Sean: Airlock. And it doesn't...again going back, like if you don't have access to a homebrew store or the internet or whatever and you can't get an airlock, like you're not completely screwed here. All you need is a piece of hose or tubing in a cork or bung or something like that and stick the other end in liquid, you know. Maybe water with a with a few drops of bleach in it, sanitizing solution, vinegar, alcohol, whatever. Right? Because then it's just you know, the CO2 is blowing out of that tube and just bubbling out of thing. Like an airlock is cleaner, takes up less space, and is more optimized, but yeah, improvisation works fine. Margaret: Okay. How long am I leaving this? Does it have to be in a cool dark place? Like can I do this on the... Sean: You don't want direct sunlight. Alright, so you don't want direct sunlight and you don't want light from you know, you don't want Margaret: Grow lights, or UV, or whatever. Sean: Yeah, grow light or UV or anything like that. If you just got like, you know, ambient room light hitting hitting it, especially if it's in a bucket, you're probably okay. Beer is more of a concern because beer has hops, and hops are photosensitive, and your beer will taste like Heineken at a summer picnic, you'll get that like kind of skunky thing that you get in green glass bottles. Margaret: Yeah. Which I weirdly, I have positive associations with just from... Sean: A lot of people do. A lot of people do. It's like...What you like isn't isn't wrong. Like, it is what it is. It's an unfavorable characteristic to some people, but, you know, there's a lot of traditional German beers that are described as having a sulfur character. And it's like, I don't like that though, but it's correct. Margaret: I drink a lot of Grolsch. And like, yeah, yeah, I drank a lot of green-bottled Grolsch when I lived in the Netherlands. And it was not...Yep. I'm not trying to relive my cheap beer phase. But like, Grolsch was a good middle of the road, cheap beer, you know. Sean: I like the bottles because they're almost infinitely reusable. You've got to replace those little plastic... Grolsch bottles are the ones that have that swing top with a little cage that clicks down. So those are...I still have a few of them that I use that I have been reusing for almost a decade now. Margaret: That's amazing. Okay, now so we've got the bucket, you're keeping it out of the sun because you don't want Heineken and especially with hops. Margaret: Oh, I would assume gravity is about alcohol. Sean: It's less of an issue with with cider. But you're going to, depending on how finicky you want to be, you can test the original gravity, right? Original gravity is the original measurement of the liquid's specific gravity, basically how much sugar is in solution? Sean: No, gravity is sugar in solution. Margaret: So that's how you find out your relative...Go ahead, please explain it. Sean: Yeah, you look at how much sugar you started with and how much sugar you ended up with and subtract the difference. Yeah, because yeah, yeah, no, it's...there's a couple ways of measuring original gravity. Margaret: Yeah, how do you do that? Sean: The easiest, cheapest, and most like durable over like a long term survival situation is going to be the use of a hydrometer. So that is like a little glass. It almost looks like an old school mercury thermometer with a bunch of weights on one end and like a glass bubble. And that floats in solution. You can float it in like a little like a tall cylinder so you don't waste very much alcohol. You can also float it directly in the bucket. Right? And it's got little lines. It'll tell you like 1.050 Like, that's like the standard standard gravity for most beer and cider. Right? It's around, you know, 1.050 and that when it's fermented fully... Margaret: Is it measuring the buoyancy of the water? Sean: Basically, yeah. Margaret: Yeah. Okay, cool. Yeah, sorry, please continue. Sean: So that is how a hydrometer works. And then you'll measure it again. If you're doing it in a bucket, you don't need a cylinder, you just need to sanitize that hydrometer and then stick it in, measure the original gravity, the gravity reading before you add yeast, and then after--in the case of cider, I would say, you know, three or four weeks I would start checking it again. The other really nice thing about a hydrometer is you can hold off on packaging until you get consistent readings, right? So if you check your...you know, you've let it ferment for three weeks. You check your gravity on Monday and then you write it down, you know: 1.015. Then you check it on Wednesday: 1.014. Okay, well, maybe check it again on Friday: 1.013. No, it's still going down. Like we need to, we need to let this continue to ferment. Margaret: Okay, so you're basically letting it eat as much sugar as it can. Sean: Yeah, yeah, it'll...it's got its own limit. It's got its own limit. And once there are no more digestible, you know, saccharides then you're safe to package. If you package while the yeast is still actively fermenting, you've got two problems. One of them is the.... Margaret: Exploding bottles. Sean: You know, exploding bottles, as mentioned earlier. The other is that, you know, our cultures are generally pretty considerate in that they clean up after themselves, right? They metabolize the most easily available sugars first and then there are some compounds leftover. A lot of them have unpleasant, you know, tastes or aromas, maybe like a really bitter, pithy, green apple thing. Sulfur is very common, right. But these compounds, the yeast is going to turn to when it runs...and bacteria are going to turn to when they run out of very, you know, junk food, basically. Very easily digestible monosaccharides. Margaret: Is there something called young beer where it hasn't eaten at all? Am I completely wrong? I just have this in my head somewhere. Sean: Like it's like a historical thing, right? Like in English brewing maybe? Margaret: I don't know. Some concept where people intentionally drink beer that still has the sugar or something? [Sounding unsure] I'm probably wrong. Sean: No, semi-fermented beer is very much a thing. And I know in some brewing traditions, I think there's some in Africa that use like cassava and things like that where you're drinking it like 12 hours into the fermentation and it's like kind of like a communal thing. Like, you know, people, you know, make a big batch and everybody drinks it at once so that you know, you can get it right when it's super fresh. Tepachi as well, like the fermented pineapple drink in South America, it's kind of a similar thing. There's the pineapple and then there's brown sugar added as well and you want to start drinking it when about half of the sugar is fermented so it's still really sweet. It's almost like a semi-alcoholic, like bucha tiki drink sort of thing. Margaret: Okay. Before we get to packaging, my other question is, is beer just white sugar? Is that the thing that's added? Like, what is the yeast? What is it? What is the...or is it eating the carbohydrates instead of the sugar? Sean: The carbohydrates. Beer uses beer uses malted barley. So malting is a process by which you take you take your grains of barley, you get it slightly damp and you just keep turning it over. And the kernels will like begin to germinate. But before they like crack open and you get like a little shoot or something like that, the process of germination, basically you get a lot of these very difficult to digest carbohydrates converted into simple carbohydrates so that the emerging plant has a rapid source of fuel. Kind of similar to an egg in the survival strategy, sort of. Yeah, right. Once it once it's malted, right, once that has has taken place, they kiln it, right. So, they hit it with heat. And that kills the sprouting grain. So, it's not like the malt is going to like mold or, you know, go to seed or, you know, start growing or anything like that. That would be inconvenient. You want this stuff to be able to stay shelf stable for a couple years. So, they treat it with heat, right. And there are there are all kinds of ways of doing it. It is a very involved process. I have never malted my own grains. I've thought about doing it, but it's like very labor intensive and really only economical at pretty large scale. Margaret: Is this why people didn't fuck with beer until after they were fucking with cider and meat and all that shit? Sean: I think so. But, the first beers were actually made from bread not malt. So. Margaret: Because it's simple? Sean: Exactly. Same process, right? It's easier to make bread than it is to commercially, you know, kiln, you know, bags and bags of barley. And also, you know, bread has its own shelf life. So, if you're getting towards the end of it.... Margaret: Oh, yeah, then you turn it into booze. Sean: Exactly. And that's a thing in Russia too. Kvass, K-V-A-S-S, it's a it's made with, like rye, rye bread. And it's usually around 2% or 3% alcohol, but it's literally like a thing that you know, people... Margaret: I love low-alcohol beer. Sean: Yeah, me too. Oh, man. Like a 2.5% alcohol pale ale. Yeah, just a little bit of hops. That is like my sweet spot. Margaret: Yeah, absolutely. Because it's like, oh, I want to drink a beer, but I don't want to get drunk all the time. Like, you know, it's like I love a beer on the nice afternoon, but I hate the after afternoon nap that you could get stuck taking if you drink an 8% beear. Like what the fuck. Sean: Yeah, no, it just like the day's plans have all of a sudden have changed. Margaret: Okay, because the reason I asked about the sugar thing is the first time I ever helped someone ferment. They made dandelion wine. And ever since then I've been like this is all bullshit because dandelion wine--at least as this person made it--I was like, this is just cane sugar wine. It's just cane sugar wine with some dandelion flavor. And I was like really upset by this. Because I--and maybe this is bullshit--but it's like, which of these alcohols are mostly just cane sugar? And which ones can you actually ferment? Sean: Dandelion wine for sure is because there's virtually no fermentable sugars in dandelion, but there are a lot of very strong botanical flavors. Like dandelion wine...like the dandelions are more equivalent to like hops in beer than they are to malt in beer. Margaret: Because the hops are flavor? Sean: Yeah, they're adding they're adding flavor. They're adding aroma. They're adding like all of these botanical, you know, aspects to it, but they are not the source of the alcohol. They are not the source of the sugar or anything like that. Margaret: Okay, can you make dandelion wine with like, with actual...I mean, I know cane sugar does come from a plant, but it's still...I feel betrayed. Sean: Yeah. You could make dandelion...you could add dandelions to cider. I haven't done it but I've noticed people doing it. You can use, you know, any kind of like a reconstituted fruit juice and do like a fruit type wine. I think the reason...and I think the one of the more interesting ways of doing the dandelion wine thing is doing a dandelion mead. I've had a few of those that are really good. Margaret: Oh, that sounds nice. That sounds very like cycle of life, you know, like, honey and the flowers. Sean: It's a lot of closed loops, right? No, I think the reason that cane sugar became a convention for that is, you know, economic. Like cane sugar was fairly cheap. It was the cheapest, you know, fermentable available to rural people in the Dust Bowl era. Margaret: That makes sense. Yeah. Sean: I mean, artificially so, right. Yeah. I think that's where that came from. Margaret: Okay, so you mentioned doing all this in a bucket. I still want to get to the putting it in the bottles and stuff. But, is there an advantage...Like, do...Should I get a carboy if I have the money to spend. I'm under the impression that a carboy are a big glass bottle that looks like one of those five gallon jugs you put in your office cooler, only it's for making alcohol. Is that better? Sean: That's pretty much it. I don't...I don't like carboys. I've used them. I use them for bulk aging of sour beer. I use them for primary fermentation of clean beer and cider. I got rid of all of mine. Margaret: So you use buckets and stuff? Sean: I use buckets or I use converted kegs or converted stainless steel kettles if I'm doing a larger batch. It's just I have a like...for like all the sour beer I have like a 15 and a half gallon stainless steel kettle with a like a bulkhead. Like a like a valve on the bottom. And that allows me to like do pass throughs. So I keep that as like my acidifying chamber. It's called a Solera. I actually wrote a Kindle digital single about like building and maintaining these. It's almost exclusively useful for sour beer, you know, bacterially fermented cider or vinegar making. But, if you're doing any of that kind of thing, especially, you know, small scale, but you know, wanting to provide for a bunch of people like a club or community or anything like that, it's really the most efficient way to do it. Margaret: Why don't you like carboys? Sean: I don't like glass. I don't like glass because there's just a real risk of injury. When...if you've got a seven gallon carboy full of liquid, we're talking 70 or 80 pounds in a glass bottle. Margaret: Yeah, okay. I see where you're going. Sean: Things can go Bad real quick. When I use them, I had some that fit in milk crates so I could just pick up the milk crates. That helped out a lot. They also make, they call them I think just carboys straps, it's like a like a four piece harness with handles that you can use. But when I when I've seen them break, it's almost always when someone's setting them down, right? Anytime you're setting down something heavy, you know, unless you're very strong and have a great deal of control, right, that last little bit you can sometimes kind of crack it down. And again, we're talking 70 or 80 pounds in a glass bottle. And you don't have to crack it down very hard for the whole bottom to go out and that's a mess. Margaret: Yeah. Because then you got blood in your beer. And that's just... Sean: Yeah, right. It gets very Klingon on very quickly. And it's Yeah. But the other aspect I don't like is they're completely light permeable too, right cause they're just clear glass. Margaret: Yeah. That always seemed weird. You have to keep them in a closet with a towel on them or whatever. Sean: Yeah, yeah. It's just I think, again, it was...so homebrewing only became legal in the United States under Jimmy Carter. Right. It had been illegal from prohibition to Jimmy Carter. Yeah. Margaret: Holy shit. Yeah. Does that mean we'll eventually get home moonshining? I can't wait. Sean: I feel like if we were going to get it, it would have happened already. And I don't think the trends politically are towards individual deregulation anytime soon for that kind of thing. But you know, it is legal to make you know, like fuel alcohol. Some people make fuel alcohol and then lose it in barrels and things like that. Margaret: Yeah, it's not worth it for me. I always figure I shouldn't do anything that brings the Eye of Sauron anywhere near me. So I'm just not gonna make it. Sean: Oh totally. And, there have always been people who are going to do it, you know, illegally, but it's not worth the hassle. It can be like...I know we've been talking about fermentation on the side of, you know, consumption and food and beverage and all that, but I do know, people who have stills that use them to produce like fuel alcohol, you know, for backpacking and things like that. And that is valid. And you can, you can, you can produce, you know, fuel alcohol very cheaply, if that's the thing that you use for, you know, kind of off grid type stuff that can really be a useful a useful toolkit, but kind of outside of what we're talking about today. Margaret: Yeah, I'll have you on...have you or someone else on at some point for that. Yeah. Okay. So you've made your alcohol, this was all simpler than I thought. So now you have a bucket full of alcohol, and you don't want to just pass out straws. What do you do? Sean: Yeah, passing out straws is an option, but you need to, you know, make sure there are enough people in your in your group to get through five gallons all at once, I guess. No, so you're the two main options available are bottling and kegging. Right? So bottling is usually, you know, when we're talking about it as an alternative to kegging, rather than, you know, bottling from a keg, which is a totally different thing. If we're going to bottle it, we're probably going to bottle conditioned it. So, we're going to add a small amount of sugar back. What's that? Margaret: But why? Sean: Bottle condition? Margaret Yeah. Sean Bottle condition for the oxygen scavenging effects of Brettanomyces yeast. Margaret To make it as safe as possible. because we don't have commercial... Sean And shelf stable as possible. Margaret Right? Okay. If we had like a big commercial thing then there would be a way of bottling it where no air gets in, but because we're doing a DIY some air will get in so that's why we want to bottle condition to clean up our mess? Sean Well, even in commercial systems you are going to have oxygen ingress, but it's going to be significantly less than than what you have at home. Okay. So yeah, that's going to help with that. So we got longer shelf life both for like a quality flavor product and a, you know, safe to consume product. Both of those are extended. That also adds carbonation, which a lot of people really enjoy, you know, having the nice fizzy bubbles. Margaret Oh, it's flat until this point? Sean Yeah, yeah. Totally flat. Because it's only going to pressurize in a sealed environment. It's only going to carbonate in a sealed environment. Margaret No, that makes sense. Sean You got to blow off tube. So all your co2 is, is going away. Margaret Does that mean people don't bottle condition their wine because otherwise you make champagne? Sean You wouldn't want to add sugar to wine that you are bottling unless you are trying to make sparkling wine. But of course it wouldn't be champagne unless it came from Champagne, France. Margaret I'm glad we have the same bullshit cultural reference. 90s...whatever. Sean Oh, man. That one is, like... Margaret I love Wayne's World. Sean ...hilarious too just in their own right. Margaret Okay, so, okay, so, back to our cider. We're bottling it. Oh, but that actually...cider is not normally carbonated. Is DIY Are you kind of stuck? Does bottle conditioning always carbonate it? Sean You can, if you want if you want still cider, just don't add sugar. Margaret How are you bottle conditioning then? Sean It's just not bottle conditioning, it's just bottled. It still has yeast in there, it still has all of that in there because you haven't pasteurized it, right? So, it still has those those health effects. Shelf life might be a little bit lower. I haven't seen any significant studies on comparing, you know, home produced still versus, you know, carbonated, you know, via bottle conditioning insider. But I would like to. Like that would be really...that'd be some really useful data if somebody wants to get on that. But you still are probably going to have a good few years of preservation. And again, the higher the alcohol you get the longer it's going to be shelf stable, right? You have fortified your cider with say brown sugar, right? That's a very common one that people will do. You add brown sugar and maybe some cinnamon or vanilla, right, especially for kind of like a winter drink. You can very easily make a cider that's 11% or 12% alcohol and ferment almost as quickly and that is going to stick around just fine. And it tastes really good. Margaret You know I want this. I don't even drink very much. But yeah, this is making me...I'm on...like, I barely drink anymore, but I'm like, I just want to make this stuff. Sean It is a lot of fun. And I've always really gravitated towards like the kind of like sensory aspects of beverage. Yeah, like, just the, I don't know, I love a head change. Don't get me wrong. Yeah. You know, there's a reason that humans, that we've been covergently evolving with alcohol for as many millennia as we have. But there are flavors that only really come out through, like for fermentation, specifically through lactic acid fermentation, and I'm talking flavors in beverages and food. You can get you get these, you know, different compounds from all different aspects of the process that you just can't get anywhere else. Margaret Okay, but we're, we're coming up towards an hour and I want to get to the point where my cider is in bottles. Sean Where we have drinkable alcohol? Margaret How do I get it? How do I get it into the bottles? So am I like siphoning it like you're stealing alcohol? Like when you're stealing gas? Sean Yeah, you can people do that. But they also make what's called an auto siphon, which is just like a little racking cane kind of arm that you just put the tubing on. And that like, let's it starts the siphon for you. It automatically starts to siphon for you. So you don't get your bacterial mouth on tubing. Margaret Yeah, that makes sense. Sean Yeah, you know, in a survival situation, you know, switch with some vodka and do it and call it good, but in an ideal situation, a sanitized, racking cane is ideal. Even more ideal, I think a lot of people do especially with cider because it doesn't produce nearly as much yeast sediment, just ferment in a bucket that has a little valve or bulkhead on it. Margaret Oh, down at the bottom? Sean Yep. All you got to do is take your bucket, sit it up on your counter, you add in you know a little bit of sugar. It's usually around like four ounces of sugar, you dissolve it in boiling water and then add the sugar solution. Stir it gently. And then you just use that valve to fill the bottles. And then you use a bottle cap or you can either use like a bench capper that like sits on a bench and has like a little lever arm like this. That's a lot more ergonomic. They also have these they call them wing cappers. There's two handles and you just kind of set it on top of the cap and then you know, push down. I have definitely broken bottlenecks with the wing cappers before. Yeah, not broken any with a bench capper. So I would definitely recommend a bench capper. Margaret Or, drink Grolsch. Sean Yeah, drink Grolsch. Yeah. And any kind of you can, you can save those. It's not just Grolsch bottles, but those are probably the most common ones. They have like a little swing cap cage, a little ceramic cap with a rubber grommet. You have some kind of siliconized grommet. Yeah. And that just sits there and then clicks it in place. And yeah, those sometimes you have to replace the little rubber part after every six or eight uses of the bottle. But yeah, that's a hell of a lot better than replacing the whole thing. Okay, once you have bottled, though, you are going to need to leave them alone for two or three weeks because the bottle conditioning needs to occur. So, it's refermentation in the bottle. So in order to get that CO2 built up and those those nice lovely bubbles, you're gonna have to leave that alone. Margaret But if it's cider, we can drink it right away because cider isn't conditioned. Sean Yeah, cider or wine. I like bottle conditioning cider. I like to carbonated cider. But if you're, if you're leaving it still, you know, that's kind of like the English tradition. I think you generally see more like carbonated cider, though. Margaret I'm...yeah, now that I realize I do....Cider does have carbonation. Great. I totally know what I'm saying. Sean Some don't and like a lot of...like, I was relating to like Basque cider. And you know, from like the France and Spain kind of border area you have like this huge range of carbonation. There you have some that are like champagne levels, like over carbonated like, you know, almost burns your nose when you drink it. And you have some that are completely still and then you have some that are, "Oh, yeah, I guess there are bubbles in here. I guess this is technically carbonated." Yeah, pétillant is the industry term. But so there is like a huge range on that. Margaret Okay, so the stuff I need is I need a fermentable, I need yeast. I need a not carboy but a bucket or whatever. I need a water lock...airlock. Sean Airlock or a blow off tube. Yeah. Margaret Yeah, and I need a way...either a spigot or a auto siphon. And I need bottles, bottle caps and a capper. Sean Yep. The other thing that I would say you need is, you need some kind of a sanitizer. If we're going with convenience, the easiest one is like a brewery specific sanitizer Star San or Quat, things like that. They're no-rinse sanitizers. So you don't...They sanitize and they leave a little bit of foam in place. And you don't need to rinse them. They will be broken down by the process of fermentation and they are soluble in alcohol and they are completely food safe. Yeah. So you generally buy these in like a concentrated form, like a 32oz or 64oz bottle with a little like dispenser, you know, thing at the top, and half an ounce of this concentrate will make...one ounce of the concentrate will make five gallons of sanitizing solution. So if you have one of these around... Margaret Jesus, so that's enough for a long time. Sean Yeah, I know, I've replaced my at some point, but I can't remember when the last time it was. Like, you don't go through it very quickly. It's definitely worth investing. You can, again in a pinch, you can use, you know, water diluted with bleach and then just rinse it with like water that's been boiled. Yeah, you can use you can use alcohol, right? You can you can use... Margaret If you have that still that we of course won't have...Once the apocalypse comes and we all make stills. Sean Yeah. Right, then in that situation, and obviously, you can use that to spray it down. You can even put, you know, in our in our current, you know, situation, you can you can put pop off vodka in a fucking Dollar Tree spray bottle and yeah, do it that way. You know, like there are options for that purpose. You know, like, you know, industry specific beverage and brewing no-rinse sanitizers are the easiest. And again, like we were talking about. Margaret Yeah, if you're planning it out. Sean If your first endeavor, if it goes well, right, and everything works easily, you're more likely to keep doing that. So, I definitely recommend using those, if possible, but again, certainly not necessary. Once you you've got that, the only other bit of material that we talked about, and it is optional, is the hydrometer. Margaret Oh, yeah, that's right. Because then you know when it's done. Sean You can also use a refractometer, which is a different piece of technology I mentioned. I meant to mention this earlier, but I didn't. A refractometer is...it almost looks like a little Kaleidoscope that you put up to your eye, but it's got like a like screen and then a piece of plastic that clips on top that lays flat on top of the screen. You put a couple of drops of your liquid on the screen and then put your plastic on there and you look through it. And it shows you on a line what your specific gravity is based on its refractometary index. Margaret Is the reason people homebrew is because they want to feel like mad scientists? And they want alcohol. Sean A lot of people I'm sure. Yeah. Margaret I mean, this is some mad Scientist shit. Now you use the kaleidoscope to find out how much alcohol there is. Sean I feel like yeah, you should have some Jacob's Ladders and Tesla coils behind you as you're doing it. Margaret That's how you sanitize is you make the ozone with it. Anyway. Sean Oh, you just lightening flash the ozone. Yeah, I can't believe I haven't heard about this. Yeah, no. The nice thing about the refractometer is we're talking like half a cc of liquid being used. So it is a really, really efficient way to measure it. It will not measure accurately in the presence of alcohol. There are like equations that can like compensate for this a little bit. Margaret Wait, then what good does it do? Sean It tells you how much is there originally. So if, like for me, I know to what degree like my house culture of yeast and bacteria ferments. It ferments down to like .002 or even just 1.0. The same lack of sugar in solution as water, basically. Right? So if I know that, I don't need to measure it at the end if it always winds up at the same place. Right? If I was selling it, I would need to, but if it's just for personal consumption, and I always know where it's finishing, I just need to know where it's starting and I know what the alcohol is. Margaret Okay. But then you can't tell if it's done except for the fact that you've done this enough that you're like the bubbles have stopped. It's been a week. I'm used to this. It's done. Or whatever. Sean Yeah, yeah. So, for Starting off, I definitely recommend the hydrometer. It's just more effective. And if you're doing all of your fermentation in a bucket anyway, it's real nice because you can, you can just put it in, you don't have to pull some out, put it in a sample, pour it, you know, put it in a tall cylinder and then toss that, you know, eight ounces of beverage down the drain or whatever. Margaret Yeah. Well, I think that's it. I think that we're out of time and we didn't even get to the food stuff. So, I'm gonna have to have you back on if that's alright some time. Sean Yeah, that's absolutely fine by me. I've enjoyed myself thoroughly. Margaret Fuck yeah. Is there anything that you want to plug? Like, for example, you have a book that people can buy about how to do some of this stuff? Maybe if more than one? I don't know. Like, you wanna? Yeah. Sean So "The Self-sufficient Solera" is the name of the book. I just did it is a Kindle single on Amazon. So you can you can get it there. If you don't, if you don't want to go through there, my website Seanvansickel.com. And yeah, there's contact info there too. You know, if anybody has any questions about any of this stuff, I love to share that and all of my writing is collected there. So, I've published an article on like, composting spent grains and like, you know, reducing waste from home brewing. I published that with Zymurgy Magazine recently. And, you know, that's all on there and original fiction and all that good stuff, too. Margaret Awesome. All right. Well, thank you so much. And I look forward to talking to you more about this soon. Sean Sounds good. Have a good one. Margaret Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed that episode then go get drunk. I don't know, maybe don't go get drunk. If you don't drink, we will be talking about fermentation that doesn't have to do with alcohol at some point in the future. And tell people about the show. We're weekly now. And you can be like, "Holy shit, this shows weekly," and people be like, "I've never heard what you're talking about." And you can be like, "I can't believe you've never heard of Live Like the World is Dying, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Or, instead of gatekeeping, you could just tell them that they can find it wherever they listen to podcasts. And if they're like, "I don't listen to podcasts," you can be like, "That's fair. Everyone gets information in different ways." I mean, you can be like, "No, you should absolutely listen podcasts. It's the only reasonable thing to do." You can also support us by supporting us on Patreon. Our Patreon is patreon.com/strangersinatangledwilderness. Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness is an anarchist media collective that puts out, you'll be shocked to know this, it puts out podcasts like this one, and Anarcho Geek Power Hour and Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness. And we also put out zines and we put out books, including my most recent book "Escape from Incel Island." So you should support us if you want. It allows us to pay for transcriptions and audio editing and makes all of this possible. And in particular, I would like to thank top of all--I can't say Hoss the Dog is the best dog because Rintrah's the best dog. I'm sorry Hoss the Dog. I know every dog is the best dog to their individual people that they hang out with. But Rintrah is the best dog. But close runner up, just like close runner up on also Anderson, but close runner up is Hoss the Dog. And I'd also like to thank the following people who are presumably humans. Michiahah, Chris, Sam, Kirk, Eleanor, Jenipher, Staro, Cat J., Chelsea, Dana, David, Nicole, Mikki, Paige, SJ, Shawn, Hunter, theo, Boise Mutual Aid, Milica, paparouna, Aly, Paige, Janice, Oxalis, and Jans. Y'all make it possible. As for everyone else, y'all are also great because we're all going to try and get through this really, really nasty shit together. And we're doing it. We're so here. We will continue to be here. That's the plan. All right. Oh, goodbye. Find out more at https://live-like-the-world-is-dying.pinecast.co

"People didn't think about the demographics enough. They didn't think about the role of real estate and debt. And they built capacity on the assumption of, say, 6% or 7% consistent growth, which we are unlikely to experience in the future." – John Richardson, Senior Consultant, ICISIn this episode of The Chemical Show, host Victoria Meyer and guest John Richardson of ICIS discuss China's aging demographic and the future of the chemical industry. They delve into China's projections for becoming a net exporter in polypropylene, limitations on becoming a net exporter in polyethylene, and the current oversupply and weak demand growth in HDPE.Topics covered include: - China's aging demographic and its impact on the future of the chemical industry- The growth in China's petrochemical capacity and its impact on supply and demand in the market- The factors influencing the chemical industry's margins and pricing, including fluctuations in energy costs- The impact of geopolitical factors on the industry, including concerns about energy costs in Europe- The impact of demographic changes on housing demand and local government spending in ChinaWhether you're in the industry or just curious about the global forces at play, this episode is essential listening.https://www.icis.com/asian-chemical-connections/2023/06/why-china-could-become-self-sufficient-in-hdpe/https://www.icis.com/asian-chemical-connections/2023/05/chinas-pp-industry-short-term-tactics-and-long-term-strategy/ Support for this episode comes from Jungbunzlauer, a leading manufacturer of ingredients of natural origin.  Visit www.jungbunzlauer.com

End Grain Cabinets launches Premier Polymer Cabinets, designed for various indoor and outdoor applications. Made from durable HDPE composite, these weatherproof cabinets offer quality and longevity for clients in the Finger Lakes region. End Grain Cabinets 3607 NY 14A, Penn Yan, New York(NY) 14527, United States Website https://endgraincabinets.com Email service@endgraincabinets.com

How do you teach an AI the difference between a PET bottle and an HDPE bottle? The Bosch team around Sidharta Andalam combined several sources of information to increase the accuracy of their system. Camera images and terahertz sensor signals are combined to decide if an item should get picked out of a waste stream. To get the necessary labeled training data, the engineers used the experience of trained workers at a recycling plant in Singapore. If you haven't listened to the previous full episode about this topic, we recommend starting there for additional context. More Bosch podcasts: Beyond Bosch: https://podtail.com/de/podcast/beyond-bosch/

市售的塑膠瓶裝沙拉油，大多經過還會經過脫膠、脫酸、脫色、脫臭等過程。 這樣才能讓油品變得穩定，以便大量販售和長期存放。 但是，高溫精煉方式會產生一些不利健康的副產物。 因此我們要特別留意使用方式。 烹調時，不要忘記沙拉油的禁忌：高溫油炸或油煎、爆香。 Omega-6含量較多的沙拉油，因耐熱程度低，只適合中火拌炒。 油炸溫度可能高達二百多度，使用富含Omega-6的油油炸，油容易氧化，就會產生4-羥基壬烯醛。 此外，東方人在料理時，習慣先高溫爆香，也就是熱鍋、熱油，放入蔥、蒜等辛香料拌炒，逼出香氣。 但是，這個過程中油溫會不斷上升，超過發煙點、冒出油煙。 招名威指出，高溫爆香的過程，沙拉油的毒物開始氧化、揮發，使人曝露在這些化學物質裡。 這些油煙容易被烹調者吸到呼吸系統里，造成肺部傷害，增加肺癌風險。 除了避免高溫烹調，還要留意沙拉油的保存方式。 沙拉油應放在室溫陰涼處，避免接觸光線、陽光曝曬而氧化。 瓶子材質雖然多為透明塑膠瓶，但最好是選深色瓶子，玻璃瓶更好。 大賣場及市售通路的塑膠瓶裝沙拉油，瓶子編號以2號（高密度聚乙烯，HDPE）、5號（聚丙烯，PP）為主，這兩種瓶子耐腐蝕、耐酸鹼、耐高溫，沒有塑化劑。 民眾若要在家分裝油，玻璃瓶為首選，其次是2號、5號塑膠瓶，並避免3號塑膠瓶（聚氯乙烯，PVC）。 PVC材質為提升可塑性，加入了塑化劑。 那麼壓榨油就一定比較安全嗎。 的確，從健康角度來看，壓榨的油品比較好，如橄欖油、苦茶油。 畢竟，少了精鍊過程，可較多地保留油脂原有營養素。 不過，如果環境控制不好、原料品質控制不佳，壓榨的油也可能產生一些黃麴毒素或其它的問題。 在保存方面，壓榨法的油也不如萃取的油好保存。 壓榨油雖然可以保留較多植物原本的營養素，但有害的物質、氣味也都會留下來。

Cold Weather Fusion OPSJoin the PE Alliance as our host Peter Dyke moderates a panel of industry experts who have developed cred in the inclement weather niche of HDPE fusion. This is one you will want to share with anyone who designs, installs or operates HDPE pipelines in marginal weather.Moderator: Peter Dyke, PE Alliance Panelists: Jim Johnston, McElroy ManufacturingMike Mosier, Core & Main Chris Weight, SECOR Thank you to our Poly Podcast sponsor WL Plastics.

Bradley Kelley developed MRF processing systems, also known as MRFs or material recovery facilities, before joining GBB. It's a material recovery facility for recycling, and there are these great, big, huge machines that would pull all the material back apart. You'd sort your paper into one bin, your containers into another, and your metals into yet another so that you could get paid for the recyclables you put in the curbside bin.On this episode, we'll talk about:On this episode, we'll talk about:the state of the recycling industry as a whole. There is a lot of confusion around the topic of recyclability. What items are captured, why and how the whole thing really worksHow much damage does wish-cycling do to the recycling stream or process?when it comes to recyclable items, the material is important, but what's almost most important there is the right shape, that it's the shape of a bottle, a water bottle, soda bottle, or a milk jug for HDPE.most people don't realize that even though it is the same material, it does need to be treated differently. And that does impact its likelihood of being captured.any plastic that is black cannot be recovered in a MRF.The recycling or plastic industries choose the items they do because there is value later down the value chain.the reasons that smaller items aren't often collected or capturedMany brands are switching over to aluminum instead of plastic. Is it true that it could be infinitely recycled?How does that Eddy Current work?Because glass is heavy and breaks easily, there are many different views and ideas about recycling it. What is his opinion of glass in terms of whether it will be recycled or not?What are some of the weirdest things he's seen in a recycling stream?What's his opinion of just the recycling part? Are all the claims made about biodegradable or compostable materials that are entering or already available in the market making things more difficult for the recycling stream? What effect does that have?Does he think that the molecular advanced chemical recycling process will be the solution for those hard to recycle items that mechanical or manual processes cannot collect?Do he think that the implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs, which requires companies throughout the packaging value chain from manufacturers to retailers to take responsibility for the disposal of their products, is here to stay?The topic of sustainability is clearly becoming more popular, and it appears that more companies are developing goals or objectives. Has he noticed this in his line of work? More companies want to do more. They want to collaborate. They want to try to find solutions.For more information and to explore other episodes, go to www.ppcpackaging.com/the-packaging-brothersFollow PPCPackaging on social media!  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pacific-packaging-components-inc-/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PPCPackaging/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ppcpackaging/?hl=en Website: http://www.ppcpackaging.com/Find out more about Bradley on his website, and connect with him on LinkedIn.Website: https://gbbinc.com/about/our-experts/bradley-kelley-bsmeLinkedin: linkedin.com/in/bradley-kelley-58388370The views and opinions expressed on the "Packaging Brothers" podcast are solely those of the author and guests and should not be attributed to any other individual or entity. This podcast is an independent production of Packaging Brothers, and the podcast production is an original work of the author. All rights of ownership and reproduction are retained—copyright 2023.

Jason has a discussion about the best practices for materials to use for fireworks mortars.

Thank you to our Poly Podcast sponsor WL Plastics.

Although some materials can be effectively recycled, plastic cannot. And here's why. The problem with recycling plastic lies not with the concept or process, but with the material itself. There are thousands of different plastics; each of them with its own composition and characteristics. Apart from that, it includes numerous chemical additives and colourants that cannot be recycled together, therefore, making impossible the selection of trillions of pieces into separate types for processing. Buying just one fast-food meal involves many types of single-use plastic, including PET#1, HDPE#2, LDPE#4, PP#5, and PS#6 cups, lids, clamshells, trays, bags, and cutlery – none of them should be blended simultaneously. 

Hydrocarbon Processing continues its History of the HPI series with major technological developments in the refining and petrochemical industries during the 1950s. These included the discovery of polyethylene derivatives, polycarbonates, the first use of computers in refining operations and the advancement of rocket fuels.

May the 4th be with you!  In their first ever Star Wars "deep dive," David and Ryan move along into the wonders and mysteries of the imperial stormtrooper helmet.  Joining them is a man who is always at his post: Gino Sabatino of Star Wars Icons, the world's foremost expert on all things stormtrooper.  The guys honor David's favorite holiday, Star Wars Day, as they discuss hero helmets, background helmets, ABS, HDPE, bubble lenses, chin straps, frown colors, teeth numbers, missing ears, brow trims, and screen-matches.  Isn't this a little long for a talk about stormtrooper helmets?

Listen as Charlotte Dreizen, a recycling-and-sustainable-pro, shares her smart insights on what to do with plastic caps and bottles with different types of labels, to clamshell packaging, HDPE and so much more. #NothingWastedPodcast

Alliance engineer Dan Landy hosts this podcast that was originally produced as part of the Alliance's webinar program. The Ask Me Anything format is a great way for a panel to discuss key issues in the rollout of HDPE pipe for cities. On the podcast are Dan Landy, PEA engineer, Jim Hoffman resilience expert as questioners and Richard Kolasa WL Plastics engineer and Peter Dyke PEA. Thank you to our Poly Podcast sponsor WL Plastics.

In this episode, I spoke to one of the co-founders and CEO of NAKA Industries, Jamiel Hampton. NAKA industries is a plastic upcycling company that uses proprietary technology to produce carbon-neutral (relative to virgin fuels from crude oil) fuel oils from plastic waste otherwise destined to pollute the world's landfills, oceans, waterways, etc. A modular upcycling process is utilized to efficiently convert waste plastics into high-value oil products. Naka industries' technology can convert a number(s) 2-HDPE, 4-LDPE, 5-PP, and 6-PS plastics into fuels and specialty petrochemicals. Jamiel Hampton spoke about how he started off this company and about the challenges he has faced in his journey so far. He talked about how interested parties could partner up with Naka industries to start the business of converting plastic into oil in any region worldwide. To learn more about Naka industries, visit their website: https://nakaindustries.com/Connect with Jamiel Hampton on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamielhampton/ . I made a video showing the actual process of converting plastics to oil: https://youtu.be/e62iEOb9-JA . Here is the video version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/jbMqjBhqmLg. Remember to subscribe to this podcast on wherever you listen to your podcast: https://anchor.fm/rarosue-amaraibi, --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rarosue-amaraibi/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rarosue-amaraibi/support

We are back!  Season 1 is in the books and we are starting off strong on Season 2.  Thank you to all listeners and Patrons for sticking with us during the offseason.  We look forward to bringing you some amazing guests and contents over the next 9-10 months.Ol' Sarge is at is again introducing everyone and I think he even got everyone's name correct!; Jesse is now retired and living on a hippy commune in Oregon;  Wade is busy with a move of his own and continuing to perfect his epoxy countertops; Flash is continuing to adjust to his promotion and the idea of being a grandpa; 51 is just a number; Wade continues to impress with his math skills; Mills continues to stare at four metal walls but without the conjugal  visits; how many hours a week are required for your own business?;  is self-employment a sickness?;  who would want a real job?; so many hours were wasted listening to us!; Sarge has a new 10X full body workout; methods of improving the podcast; thank you to Chris and his assistance in improving our show; laying out a shop;  Sarge “should have done both sides”; workbench materials with soft woods; HDPE work areas; Sarge loves to talk about and count his bitcoins; who wants to buy Jesse's laser?; the challenge of being original; hand-made vs mass produced furniture; “that's a good meatball”; epoxy and lumber are volatile commodities;  Jesse has a fear of commitment; kegerator owners are not necessarily members of the 1% club; target rich environments; Flash somehow grew the creepiest possible mustache during a one hour show; check out our new Patron incentives!!!  Thanks again for joining us for Season 2!Please note, we do not have paid advertisers.  Everything that we recommend comes from our personal experience.  With that said, if you want to support, please write reviews, subscribe, and share with your friends.  We would love to hear from you too, please email with any feedback and/or suggestions for our show.  We are here to serve! Hosts:Jeff (Sarge) @sergeantmakerJeff (Flash)  @flashpoint_woodworksJeff (Mills) @_damn_yankee_Wade @hill_craftJesse @steele.woodworksSupport the show

Thank you to our Poly Podcast sponsor WL Plastics.

Thank you to our Poly Podcast sponsor WL Plastics.

Thank you to our Poly Podcast sponsor WL Plastics.

Thank you to our Poly Podcast sponsor Strongbridge.

Thank you to our Poly Podcast sponsor Strongbridge.

The PE Alliance welcomes two veteran HDPE municipal users to the Podcast. Many lessons learned and interesting facts and stories from 2 engineers: Eric Shaffer (Duluth MN) and Richard Brand (East Windsor NJ). This session is a great way for the engineer or wary municipal staff member to learn about HDPE integration from two municipal staff members. 

Jamie continues his discussion with Jason Ahrenholz, Director of Engineering at Prinsco, and Dr. Michael Pluimer, Director of the Advanced Materials Center at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. In part two the conversation focused on the sustainability and resiliency of making HDPE pipe.