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HAPPY NEW YEAR.I'M KATIE WALKER AND WELCOME TO THE LIVE GREEN AND PLANO BUZZ, YOUR SOURCE FOR ALL THINGS SUSTAINABILITY IN PLANO.
THIS MONTH WE START WITH VOLUNTEERS IN PLANO.
OUR INTERVIEW GUEST HAS ALL THE DETAILS ON THEIR TREMENDOUS IMPACT THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
DID YOU RESOLVE TO TRY SOMETHING NEW IN 2026? WE HOPE TO INSPIRE YOU TO GET INVOLVED.
I'M HERE WITH KARINA SADLER, VOLUNTEER RESOURCES MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF PLANO.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, CARINA, FOR JOINING US TODAY.
WELL, CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR ROLE FOR THE CITY OF PLANO? SURE.
AS MANAGER AT VOLUNTEERS IN PLANO, I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF INTERACTING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND THE REQUEST FOR SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES.
UH, WE HAVE OVER 6,000 VOLUNTEERS THAT SIGN UP EVERY YEAR ACROSS OUR CITY DEPARTMENTS.
AND WHAT MIGHT WE SEE THEM DOING THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY? YOU CAN FIND VOLUNTEERS AT PLACES LIKE PLANO ANIMAL SERVICES, HELPING WITH ADOPTABLE PETS, SHELVING, BOOKS AT THE PLANO PUBLIC LIBRARY, UM, AND A LOT OF OTHER EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES THAT DOES SOUND LIKE FUN.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE CITY OF PLANO? SO IN A GIVEN YEAR, OUR VOLUNTEERS CONTRIBUTE OVER 90,000 HOURS.
UM, AND THAT'S A VALUE OF OVER $3 MILLION.
SO I'M SURE WE HAVE VIEWERS WHO ARE INSPIRED TO GET INVOLVED.
WHAT CAN THEY DO IF THEY'D LIKE TO JOIN VOLUNTEERS IN PLANO? YEAH, LOVE TO HAVE ANYONE SIGN UP.
YOU CAN GO TO VOLUNTEERS.PLANO.GOV.
UM, AND THERE'LL BE SIGNUPS FOR TEENS AND FOR ADULTS.
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND THANK YOU KARINA FOR MANAGING THIS INCREDIBLE IMPACTFUL PROGRAM FOR PLAN PLANO.
AND WE HOPE THAT YOU'LL CONSIDER VOLUNTEERING IN 2026 AND BEYOND.
SPEAKING OF VOLUNTEERING, THERE ARE ADDITIONAL WAYS TO GET INVOLVED WITH A FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY.
LIVE GREEN AND PLANO WELCOMES VOLUNTEERS TO LABEL STORM DRAINS AND PARTICIPATE IN LITTER CLEANUPS ON A FLEXIBLE BASIS.
STORM DRAIN LABELING HELPS PREVENT WATER POLLUTION BY INFORMING THE PUBLIC OF STORM DRAIN'S CONNECTION TO OUR WATERWAYS.
LITTER CLEANUPS IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY, BEAUTIFY THE COMMUNITY AND PROTECT WILDLIFE.
BOTH OPPORTUNITIES ARE FUN AND IMPACTFUL.
IN FACT, LITTER CLEANUP VOLUNTEERS COLLECTED NEARLY 30,000 POUNDS OF LITTER IN 2025 ALONE.
PROSPECTIVE VOLUNTEERS OF ALL AGES CAN PARTICIPATE YEAR ROUND AT THEIR CONVENIENCE.
VISIT PLANO.GOV/LG IP VOLUNTEER TO LEARN MORE.
WE THANK ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
NOW WE'LL LEAVE YOU WITH OUR LAST SEGMENT.
RECYCLE RIGHT WRAP UP, MICHAEL, TAKE IT AWAY.
THANKS, KATIE AND HELLO PLANO.
TODAY WE'RE TALKING TTRS STRING LIGHTS, ELECTRICAL CORDS, GARDEN HOSES, CLOTHES, CLOTHES HANGERS, PLASTIC BAGS, PLASTIC FILM, AND MORE.
THESE STRINGY, STRETCHY ITEMS COMMONLY END UP IN RECYCLING CARTS, BUT DON'T BELONG THERE.
WHY? WELL, IT'S IN THE NAME, BECAUSE THEY TANGLE AND SORTING EQUIPMENT AT THE PLANO RECYCLING CENTER.
WHEN TANGLES TANGLE, THEY CAN DELAY DAMAGE OR DESTROY SORTING EQUIPMENT.
THIS INTERRUPTS THE RECYCLING PROCESS AND ENDANGER STAFF WHO HAVE TO MANUALLY DETANGLE THE ITEMS. REMEMBER, WHEN IN DOUBT, LEAVE ITEMS OUT OF YOUR RECYCLING CART.
LEARN MORE ABOUT RECYCLING RIGHT INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CART AT PLANO.GOV/RECYCLING.
DID YOU RESOLVE TO LEARN A NEW SUSTAINABILITY SKILL IN 2026? CHECK OUT OUR ONLINE LEARNING MODULES, SELF-PACED GAMIFIED TEACHING TOOLS DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR PLANO RESIDENTS AND COVERING A VARIETY OF TOPICS.
WE'RE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THE LAUNCH OF OUR BRAND NEW ONLINE LEARNING MODULE ON EASY WAYS TO MINIMIZE FOOD WASTE.
BROWSE OUR ENTIRE LIBRARY AT PLANO.GOV/MODULES AND PUT YOUR NEW SKILLS TO USE TODAY.
WE'LL SEE YOU SOON FOR THE NEXT EDITION OF THE LIVE GREEN AND PLANO BUZZ.
UNTIL THEN, FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER AT LIVE GREEN AND PLANO.COM TO STAY IN THE KNOW.