- I'm Jake.

This is The Chardon Polka Band.

In our line of work, you never know what's going to happen next or who you might run into because this is "The World According to Polka."

We're starting today's show from the Geauga-Trumbull Solid Waste District Collection Facility.

People can bring all kinds of stuff here to get recycled or disposed of properly, helping keep our communities cleaner and greener.

But can a link be drawn between reducing, reusing, and recycling and polka music?

If anybody can do it, it's us.

And we're going to try our best to do that today on "The World According to Polka."

♪ I want to hear pretty music wherever I go ♪ ♪ Wherever I go, I'll keep tapping my toe ♪ ♪ I want to hear pretty music ♪ I don't care what kind ♪ If it's a waltz or a polka ♪ I'll leave my cares behind ♪ I want to dance in the morning ♪ ♪ I'll dance every night ♪ Oh yeah, I'll dance every night ♪ ♪ I'm feeling high as a kite ♪ I want to sing and want to shout it ♪ ♪ I'll tell the world about it ♪ Play pretty music for me ♪ I want to hear pretty music wherever I go ♪ ♪ Wherever I go, I'll keep tapping my toe ♪ ♪ I want to hear pretty music ♪ I don't care what kind ♪ If it's a waltz or a polka ♪ I'll leave my cares behind ♪ I want to dance in the morning ♪ ♪ I'll dance every night ♪ Oh yeah, I'll dance every night ♪ ♪ I'm feeling high as a kite ♪ I'm going to sing it, want to shout it ♪ ♪ I'll tell the world about it ♪ Play pretty music for me - That was Mitch Lawrence singing a song called "Pretty Music," featured on an old '78 record by Frankie Yankovic back in 1955.

So that song's over 70 years old.

But just because it's old, should we throw it away?

Should we discard it never to be heard again?

I think polka people would say, "No, we shouldn't."

Well, the same thing goes for all our stuff.

Just because our stuff's old doesn't mean we should throw it away.

In fact, there's a lot of things we could do or should do before discarding something.

This is Jennifer Jones.

She is the director here of this entire facility and the Solid Waste Management District, right?

- Correct.

- All right.

So, Jennifer, what's the point of all this?

Why does this place exist?

- We are here to help the residents of Geauga and Trumbull County to recycle, to get rid of their hazardous waste.

- [Jake] Okay.

- [Jennifer] And make sure it doesn't end up in landfills.

- Jennifer, why can't we just put all this stuff in landfills?

Why can't something like this go in the trash?

- Landfills are just basically big holes in the ground that we bury stuff.

So eventually the space will run out.

And it's really not a good idea to put some things in landfills.

Electronics often have things like cadmium, barium, lead.

Those are things that we don't want to bury in the ground.

It stays there for hundreds, even thousands of years.

And eventually the stuff in the landfill will end up in our groundwater.

It leeches into our groundwater.

So why don't we do what we can now to prevent that from happening in the future?

- Jennifer, when I was a kid, we were taught reduce, reuse, and recycle.

That was the '90s.

Is that still a thing?

- It is, but what most people don't understand is the three Rs that everyone is familiar with is really an order of operation.

You should reduce first, then reuse and then recycle.

- [Jake] How do we reduce?

What does that look like?

- People tend to focus on recycling, recycling, recycling.

- Yeah.

- But really, if you didn't produce it in the first place, we wouldn't have to figure out how to get rid of it and have to pay lots of money to dispose of it properly.

- What about reuse?

What's that all about?

- You could get a reusable water bottle where you would just refill it with water wherever you go.

That would save hundreds, maybe even thousands of water bottles over a given year.

Don't buy it in the first place if you don't need it.

- Okay.

- If you need it, use it as much as you possibly can, then pass it on to someone else who can use it as much as they can.

And if you can't do that, then recycle it.

Don't just jump straight to the end and bring it to us to figure out how to recycle it.

- Viewers, I want y'all to know that even if you don't live here in this county, there is likely a facility like this near you that can help you because, Jennifer, why are you guys here?

- To help you clean up.

- They're here to help us clean up, and that's what we're talking about today.

Now in our quest to clean up, I was looking around the facility.

I found this stuff.

Beer cans and beer bottles.

We in the polka industry know a little bit about beer.

So I thought, hey, it's a good time to bring in some polka music.

Ladies and gentlemen, speaking of polka, I can't believe it.

Look who we ran into, Joey Tomsick, Joey Tomsick and The Shotskis.

- [Joey] Can you believe this?

- I can't believe it.

What are you doing here today?

- I mean, I was just in the neighborhood, and I heard some great polka music coming over here from the recycle place, and it was Jake Kouwe playing, and I'm like, "I got to get my accordion out."

- Well, I hope you didn't bring the accordion in here to recycle it.

- Oh no, Jake, we're not going to recycle that just yet.

- Not yet.

- So, Joey, you and your band, you guys play regularly at the Hofbrauhaus downtown.

- Oh yeah.

- You guys play like every Friday.

- Yeah, pretty much.

- You do their monthly keg tappings.

- Lot of fun, Jake.

Lot of fun.

Wednesday nights, yeah.

- I love it.

You are a lot of fun.

You play at festivals and all kinds of stuff.

And we're gonna see if we can convince this guy to play some polka music with us today- - All right.

- At the recycling center ♪ Oh, let's have a party ♪ A party tonight ♪ We'll play the music for your delight ♪ ♪ Roll out the barrel ♪ Spread out some cheer ♪ We'll play a polka for everybody here ♪ ♪ Oh, come to the party ♪ Join with your friends ♪ Singing and dancing till evening ends ♪ ♪ We'll drink and toast till the barrel runs dry ♪ ♪ And let's have a party, a party tonight ♪ - Here we go!

♪ Whoo-hoo - Go, Joey!

- One more time!

(upbeat polka music continues) ♪ And let's all recycle, recycle your trash ♪ ♪ Cardboard and paper, beer cans and glass ♪ ♪ Batteries and light bulbs, so hazardous ♪ ♪ If you recycle, we'll give you a kiss ♪ (lips smack) - It's nifty to reuse a water bottle again and again and again.

We also do the same thing in music, reusing things again and again and again.

This is a waltz you might know as "Smile, Sweetheart, Smile," but it's actually an old Slovenian melody, poidy zominoi.

That's refreshing.

We were just talking about reducing the amount of waste we create and reusing what we have.

And we're in a place that embodies that.

We're at the American Cancer Society's Discovery Shop and here's the field director, Heather Means.

- Hi, Jake.

- Heather, what is this place all about?

- So the American Cancer Society Discovery Shops are a thrift store, and everything that you see here is donated.

Everything that we sell raises money for the American Cancer Society for all the direct service programs that help people impacted by cancer and their family.

- I got my very first accordion right here in a Discovery Shop, so there wouldn't be "The World According to Polka" without the fine work you guys are doing.

So not only are we raising money for programs, for cancer patients and their families, some amazing stuff, also, we got cool clothes and accordions coming out of this place.

Anything else?

- Well, the secondary benefit is that we keep things out of the landfill, and we do everything that we can to not put something in the dumpster.

So we recycle our metal, we pass things along, but we try really hard to be mindful of what we are throwing away versus what we can pass along.

- Heather Means, thank you for sharing your time with us today.

And if you don't mind, we're going to have a look around.

- Great, thanks so much for coming.

(golf club whacks) (golf ball swish-clanks) - All right, I think we got a little fancy and dignified addition to my usual polka attire, which is going to help inspire this next song.

♪ I'm gonna pop some tags ♪ I only got $20 in my pocket ♪ I'm, I'm, I'm hunting, looking for a come up ♪ ♪ This is super awesome ♪ I'm gonna pop some tags ♪ I only got $20 in my pocket ♪ I'm, I'm, I'm hunting, looking for a come up ♪ ♪ This is super awesome ♪ I'll wear your grandad's clothes ♪ ♪ I look incredible ♪ I'm in a big ole coat ♪ From my thrift shop down the road ♪ ♪ I'll wear your granddad's clothes ♪ ♪ I look incredible ♪ I've got an antique phone ♪ From that thrift shop down the road ♪ ♪ I'm gonna pop some tags ♪ I only got $20 in my pocket ♪ I'm, I'm, I'm hunting, looking for a come up ♪ ♪ This is super awesome ♪ I'm gonna pop some tags ♪ I only got $20 in my pocket ♪ I'm, I'm, I'm hunting, looking for a come up ♪ ♪ This is super awesome - Oh, jackpot.

I've been looking for one of these.

And can you believe I found it after only three houses?

It's amazing what you can find when you go through people's trash or recycling bins.

Not that I'm encouraging that kind of behavior.

And remember, what we're talking about on the show today is preventing stuff from ever making it to bins like this.

And we do that by reducing, reusing, and then recycling.

And hey, here's a band doing just that.

♪ Billie Jean is not my lover ♪ She's just a girl who claims that I am the one ♪ ♪ But the kid is not my son ♪ She says I am the one ♪ But the kid is not my son ♪ Billie Jean is not my lover ♪ Billie Jean is not my lover - That was the French band Les Fo'Plafonds.

They make recycled musical instruments by reusing everything from brooms to old flip-flops.

Now, what can we take away from their ingenuity?

What are we throwing away that could be used for something else?

Remember, when we keep stuff out of the rubbish heaps, we're helping keep our world beautiful.

Now, we're going to have another beautiful tune from this beautiful French band.

Isn't that beautiful?

♪ Nah-nah, nah-ah-nah ♪ Thunder ♪ Nah-nah, nah-ah-nah ♪ Thunder ♪ Nah-nah, nah-ah-nah ♪ I was caught in the middle of a railroad track ♪ ♪ Thunder ♪ I looked 'round but I knew there was no turning back ♪ ♪ Thunder ♪ Sound of the drums beatin' in my heart ♪ ♪ The thunder of guns tore me apart ♪ ♪ You've been ♪ Thunderstruck ♪ Rode down the highway ♪ Broke the limit, we hit the town ♪ ♪ Went through to Texas, yeah, Texas ♪ ♪ And we had some fun ♪ We met some girls ♪ Some dancers who gave a good time ♪ ♪ Broke all the rules, played all the fools ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, they, they, they blew our minds ♪ ♪ I was shakin' at the knees ♪ Could I come again, please ♪ Yeah, them ladies were too kind ♪ ♪ You've been ♪ Thunderstruck ♪ Thunderstruck ♪ Oo-ooh, oh-oh ♪ Thunderstruck ♪ Yeah, thunderstruck ♪ Oo-ooh, oh-oh ♪ Thunderstruck ♪ I was shakin' at the knees ♪ Could I come again, please ♪ Yeah, it's alright ♪ We're doin' fine ♪ Yeah, it's alright ♪ Yeah, we're doin' fine ♪ Whoa, whoa ♪ Thunderstruck ♪ Oo-ooh, oh-oh ♪ Thunderstruck ♪ Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa ♪ Thunderstruck ♪ Oo-ooh, oh-oh ♪ Thunderstruck ♪ Yeah ♪ Thunderstruck ♪ Nah-nah, nah-ah-nah ♪ Nah-nah, nah-ah-nah ♪ Nah-nah, nah-ah-nah ♪ Nah-nah, nah-ah-nah ♪ Nah-nah, nah-ah-nah ♪ Nah-nah, nah-ah-nah ♪ Thunder ♪ Nah-nah, nah-ah-nah ♪ Thunder ♪ Nah-nah, nah-ah-nah ♪ Thunder ♪ Nah-nah, nah-ah-nah ♪ Thunder ♪ Nah-nah, nah-ah-nah ♪ Yeah ♪ Thunderstruck ♪ I was shakin' at the knees ♪ Nah-nah, nah-ah-nah ♪ Thunder - To most folks, recycling means melting down metal or plastic to create new material to use for something else.

But for Bill Starcher here, it means an 11-foot tall phoenix made out of tires and plastic barrels.

Bill, hey, thanks for having us here today, by the way.

What do you do?

- Oh, I go down to the junkyard, and I find scrap metal that other people just want to use for something else, and I see other things in it when I'm at the junkyard, and I'll bring it home to the house here and try to make something different out of it that'll put smiles on people's faces for nothing.

- All right, so I guess my next question is, how do you make this stuff?

Can you show us how you make these?

- Yes, we can go in the shop, and we'll do a little work on one right now.

This was my wood shop.

For 50 years, I was a woodworker.

- Okay.

- And then when I went to a "Ripley's Believe It or Not!"

museum, and I saw a mermaid made out of butter knives, I sat there for an hour thinking, "Man, is that the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life?

I got to try it."

This piece right here is where I've bent it and tried to make it look like a northern pike is what I'm working on here.

I'm going to have to cut an angle here to give that angle because you can't bend the metal in 10 different directions.

I will take these pliers and put them in here and pinch the metal together, get it close enough to weld.

- This is your alligator?

- [Bill] Yeah, I would call it a spoonigator.

- [Jake] These are all spoons!

How many utensils are a part of this alligator?

- [Bill] Probably 8,000 spoons on there.

- Is art a part of your background?

Did you go to art school?

How did all this come to be?

- I actually didn't go to any kind of art school.

In fact, in school, I got a D in art.

I can't draw with a darn.

I don't blame the teacher because I can't draw, and I still can't draw.

What I'll do is I'll get a picture of the animal that I'm trying to make from the internet or a magazine, and I'll lay that picture next to what I'm making.

I don't really do measurements on stuff.

Like this piece right here, I took this piece of metal and I laid it across here and tried to envision where I need the bend to be to give this scoop down.

- These are all fantastic, Bill.

Thank you for sharing all these sculptures with us.

Now, can I ask you one more question?

- Sure.

- And this is a question I'm posing to a man with a 12-foot tall Bigfoot in his yard made out of tires.

Why do you do this?

- I do this strictly to inspire young artists to think outside the box and to put smiles on people's faces for free.

I go to events and stuff, and I don't charge to go to events either.

I go to schools with a trailer full of these things, and then I tell the kids that most people don't let you touch their art.

But my art, you can punch it, you can kick it, you can climb on it.

And when the kids hear that, they're like right over to the trailer and right up on top and the kids just have a ball climbing on art.

It gives me a lot of joy.

- Well, thanks for sharing this inspiration with us today and thanks for sharing this art with our community, Bill.

- I appreciate you out here.

- Greetings!

It is I Bigfoot.

We will now continue this moment of altruism with another exciting song from The Chardon Polka Band.

♪ I'd like to build the world a home ♪ ♪ And furnish it with love ♪ Grow apple trees and honey bees ♪ ♪ And snow white turtle doves ♪ I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony ♪ ♪ I'd like to hold it in my arms and keep it company ♪ ♪ I'd like to see the world for once ♪ ♪ All standing hand in hand ♪ And hear them echo through the hills ♪ ♪ For peace throughout this land ♪ ♪ I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony ♪ ♪ I'd like to hold it in my arms and keep it company ♪ - So once again, folks, this is a program about polka music.

So why have we spent the entirety of this episode discussing reducing, reusing, and recycling?

Because we as polka people can appreciate beauty, and we'd rather see a world filled with music and merriment than landfills.

We want to do our absolute best to keep this place clean for us polka lovers and everybody else because this is "The World According to Polka," and we don't want to go extinct.

♪ They paved paradise and put up a parking lot ♪ ♪ With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swinging hot spot ♪ ♪ Don't it always seem to go ♪ That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone ♪ ♪ They paved paradise and put up a parking lot ♪ ♪ Schoo, bop, bop, bop ♪ Schoo, bop, bop, bop ♪ They took all the trees, put 'em in a tree museum ♪ ♪ And they charged the people ♪ A dollar and a half just to see them ♪ ♪ Don't it always seem to go ♪ That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone ♪ ♪ They paved paradise and put up a parking lot ♪ ♪ Schoo, bop, bop, bop ♪ Schoo, bop, bop, bop ♪ Hey, farmer, farmer, put away your DDT ♪ ♪ Leave the spots on my apples ♪ But give me the birds and the bees ♪ ♪ Please ♪ Don't it always seem to go ♪ That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone ♪ ♪ They paved paradise and put up a parking lot ♪ ♪ Schoo, bop, bop, bop ♪ Schoo, bop, bop, bop ♪ Late last night, I heard the screen door slam ♪ ♪ And a big ole taxi took away my ole man ♪ ♪ Don't it always seem to go ♪ That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone ♪ ♪ They paved paradise and put up a parking lot ♪ ♪ Schoo, bop, bop, bop ♪ I said they paved paradise and put up a parking lot ♪ ♪ They paved paradise and put up a parking lot ♪ - That was Jake with our friend Esther Fitz performing a song about saving the planet.

And if you don't believe in Bigfoot, you can at least believe in a better world.

- Very impressive.

- Killed it.

(both laughing) - That was it.