(bright music) - [Jim] The Loop Trolley story has been both clang, clang, and sometimes clunk, clunk.

But now with fewer cars and limited service, it's right where Metro wants it to be.

- We renegotiated the operating plan and everything is square.

- [Jim] Electronic devices might be the most valuable stuff we throw away, but what doesn't work for us does work for them.

- So kinda the mantra is the highest form of recycling is reuse.

- [Jim] An international conference recently failed to agree on a plastic pollution treaty, but one local observer still came back from South Korea... - Encouraged.

There are so many people doing great work.

- [Jim] And we remember the day in 1949 when a St. Louis Rabbi made history at Harry Truman's inauguration.

It's all next on "Living St.

Louis."

(groovy music) (groovy music continues) (groovy music continues) (groovy music continues) (groovy music continues) - I am Anne-Marie Berger.

The Loop Trolley is known for a lot of things.

Cute street cars, high price tag, low ridership, a bumpy past, and an uncertain future.

So I headed to the Trolley headquarters to see what the plans are for this year and beyond.

- Private cab up at the next station.

- [Anne-Marie] The Loop Trolley is a 2.2 mile street car line with 10 stops.

And at the end of October, 2024, it concluded its six month operating season.

A few weeks later marked six years since the Loop Trolley opened for passenger service.

Six turbulent years.

Before it even hit the tracks, the trolley had already derailed a few times.

There were long construction delays and it went over budget.

$7 million over budget with a price tag of $51 million to complete.

Budget issues were compounded by low ridership.

And after it started running, its expected ridership of almost 400,000 missed the mark by 95%, and its operations were suspended by the end of 2019.

The Federal Transit Authority funded about $31 million for this project, and suspension of its operation did not sit well with them.

If trolleys were not running by June of 2022, the city would have to pay back a significant amount of the funding, and future funding for transportation projects were at risk.

- And we were asked to take over from the Loop Trolley Company to kind of rightsize this asset and get it running.

- [Anne-Marie] Toby Roach is the CEO of Bi-State Development.

In an effort to avoid a federal default on funding, Bi-State took over trolley operations in 2022.

What was your plan?

- So the key to any public asset is reliability.

Fulfill the obligations to the taxpayers.

And that's really what our goal was with this asset.

Let's get it out, let's get it running, let's be sure that it's living within its means.

- [Anne-Marie] Bi-State agree to operate the Loop Trolley through 2025, and what happens after that is yet to be determined.

There are current objectives: Get the transit system operating safely and within budget.

And for Bi-State, transit safety operations and maintenance was the easy part.

- What we needed to do was restore the public confidence in these vehicles.

Look, I have professional maintenance teams at Bi-State.

We know how to run equipment reliably.

They call it re-tiring re-trucking.

- Okay.

- Even though they're steel wheels, you will put new profiles on.

So we can do all that.

- Okay.

- With our existing equipment.

And when the trolley was having its problems earlier, coming off the track, see, that's what we do.

- Okay.

Okay.

- We know how to do that.

- So wheel profile- - And that was what was missing originally, was that.

- [Toby] Yes, you can't just run one of these in your backyard.

- My next station stop is Pageant.

My front right there, over to my right.

- [Anne-Marie] Balancing a budget supported by taxpayers for a transit system no one wanted to ride is a little trickier.

The purpose of the trolley had to be re-imagined.

The original concept included these cars serving as actual modes of transportation, improving traffic and parking.

Today they are free to ride, operating just four days a week, Thursday through Sunday, only six months a year, and tourism-focused.

- Here we are in the midst of a district that has all kinds of really interesting events, including the jazz event that's on Thursday evenings at the History Museum and other events that happen along the Loop District all during these operating times.

And what we want to do is be complimentary to that and also maybe build ridership.

If we build ridership, it means that the asset becomes more viable and the realization of a taxing district becomes real.

- [Anne-Marie] And rightsizing operations requires downsizing operations.

Until recently, there were five cars in the fleet.

- So we negotiated a complex renegotiation with the original manufacturer of these vehicles.

We returned three to them.

They're now gone, and we've kept these two.

- [Anne-Marie] And you didn't need them.

- Right.

Essentially under this new operating rubric, concentrating on the tourist capability of these units, mostly on weekends, mostly when the good weather situations, we only needed two vehicles to make that work.

And we renegotiated the operating plan with both the Loop District and the Federal Transit Administration, and everything is square.

- [Anne-Marie] According to Roach, the Loop Trolley ended its 2024 season with a 40% increase in ridership.

That's over 12,000 rides.

He says they have accomplished the goal of living within the means and expectations of the taxpayers and are currently operating in the black.

Now they can explore how the trolley can benefit the district it rolls through.

- We'll look at all those assets and see what we can do so that we start having this be really a crown in the jewel of the loop district.

(trolley bell ringing) - We often throw out stuff when it breaks, and sometimes we toss something just because we like the new version better, especially when it comes to electronics.

But when it comes to things like computers, phones, flat screens, there's a mountain of that discarded stuff that's worth mining.

Brooke Butler went to visit some of those miners.

- [Brooke] If you've ever had the thought that things aren't made like they used to be, you'd be right.

(curious music) We've all experienced things like a toaster that suddenly stops toasting, a washer that stops washing, or leaving your phone on the charger all night only to wake up with a dead battery.

And perhaps just as inconvenient as replacing those items is figuring out what to do with the old stuff.

- All e-waste has something in it of value, right?

Because we're looking at metals and circuit boards, and even batteries and universal waste.

- [Brooke] But even with value, the US generated 1.5 billion pounds of electronic waste in 2022.

And as e-waste is the fastest growing solid waste stream in the world, that number is projected to significantly increase each year.

However, places like Midwest Recycling Center, or MRC, are trying to fix that, - The numbers are staggering.

We continue to just generate more and more and more and more e-waste.

- [Brooke] Greg Cooksey is the Senior Director of Business Development at MRC and he gave us an inside look at their de-manufacturing facility in Park Hills, Missouri.

This is where all of the end of life electronics collected by MRC end up, but the first stop is their refurbishing facility in Imperial, Missouri.

- So kinda the mantra is the highest form of recycling is reuse.

That's the first step in the process, is this something that somebody else would want, right?

And does it have value?

Taking a laptop and doing data destruction on the hard drive, right?

Sanitizing the hard drive, reloading the operating system on the laptop, and then the laptop is available, it's got a new life, right?

So somebody else can now use the laptop.

- [Brooke] MRC aims to refurbish about 20% of the electronics they collect.

The other 80% gets deconstructed into individual components and shipped out to downstream vendors, which refers to the companies that either resell or dispose of these components.

And 0% ends up in the landfill.

But how do we know that for sure?

(curious music) - So, we bring in an air conditioner and we pump the Freon down.

Freon goes to a downstream vendor.

Then we take the compressor out, that goes to a downstream vendor.

The metal goes to a different downstream vendor.

Maybe there's some plastic on it, that goes to a different.

So we may be looking at multiple downstream vendors that are gonna get all these different types of materials and further process those, and we wanna make sure that they don't just take the positive value, good stuff, and throw the rest in the landfill.

- [Brooke] That's where an R2 certification comes into play.

Responsible Recycling Standard for Electronics Recyclers is an accreditation to ensure worker health, data protection, and environmental care.

MRC is also registered with the EPA and enforce environmental laws like the Clean Air and Water Acts.

- So what's the difference between that and somebody that doesn't have a certification?

Well, everything I just told you isn't required?

So are they doing all that stuff?

I don't know.

We don't know.

Nobody knows.

We know that when we're selecting downstream vendors, if they have that same certification that we do, we're all playing by the same rules, right?

And then Department of Natural Resources also comes into our facilities.

Typically, that's usually annually.

It's kind of a surprise, it's an unannounced visit.

They'll want to see your universal waste area and how you're handling batteries.

And that's something else, too.

So lithium batteries are- - That's a huge problem.

- Well, you had asked a question earlier, what is one huge challenge?

What are some challenges?

That's one that we're really struggling with right now because lithium ion battery fires, right?

- Oh, I've seen TikTok videos of dumpster trucks catching on fire.

You may have recently seen the news of the explosion at the lithium ion processing facility in Frederickson, Missouri.

These batteries are increasingly necessary for electronics such as cell phones, laptops, and electric cars, but they pose a lot of challenges in both manufacturing and disposal or recycling.

(playful music) And lithium ion battery fires are just one environmental hazard to consider with e-waste.

When dumped in a landfill, they pose the risk of contaminating the soil and groundwater with toxic metals and chemicals.

But despite the negative environmental and financial consequences of improper disposal, electronics can be difficult for consumers to get rid of.

Whether it's the obstacle of transporting the large heavy items or paying fees that are sometimes associated with recycling.

- What we know is that if it costs too much money to recycle something, then the knee jerk reaction is to do what?

Not recycle it.

About 90 to 95% of the material that comes into our facility, we don't charge for.

- Oh, wow.

- So we're charging for TVs, right?

And stuff that contains Freon, appliances that contain Freon like refrigerators and dehumidifiers and freezers because there's additional labor costs in that in Freon recovery that we do.

Think about those old tube TVs, we'll see people drop those off and they'll say like, "Hey, it still works."

The tube that's in that TV has lead in it, it's going to go to a fully vetted downstream smelter.

But that TV lasted 20 years, right?

Flat screen TVs today, they're not lasting 20 years, right?

What, maybe they're lasting five years.

So planned obsolescence.

- Planned obsolescence is the business strategy where products are intentionally designed to break or become out of date within a set amount of time.

You've probably run into this when you update the software on your phone only to notice the device now runs more slowly.

This entices consumers to spend more money by continuously upgrading their device, and in turn producing more e-waste.

So more responsibility from the manufacturer and not so much from the consumer?

- Well, certainly.

- Or both.

- Right, both.

- Yeah.

- I think both.

I mean, as a consumer, maybe that's something that we need to be asking ourselves.

When we buy that device, when we're done with it, what are we gonna do with it, right?

- Yeah.

- Hopefully you bring it and you drop it off to us and we do the right thing with it, right?

You do the right thing by bringing it to us and once we have it, we do the right thing.

(upbeat music fades) - And now a story about something that didn't used to be a problem, but now it is.

When it comes to plastic pollution, the good news is it's recognized as a global problem.

But what makes a bad situation worse is there's no agreement on a global solution.

Jim Kercher spoke with someone who in her own way is working on that.

- [Jim] Last fall in South Korea, delegates failed to agree on an international plastic pollution treaty.

There were delegates from some 170 countries and more than 400 organizations sent observers.

One of them, St. Louisan Jennifer Wendt.

She works on plastic pollution projects locally and in other Mississippi River communities.

- So I actually was there both on behalf of MRCTI, Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, and the University of Georgia, who I work with closely on different research on different plastic pollution projects.

- Now it is clear, of course, that there are some real differences on some key elements.

- [Jim] When you come back from an international conference in South Korea with all of these nations, do you come back encouraged or discouraged?

- Encouraged.

So I am a cynical optimist, so I've been this way probably since I started doing environmental work, but there are so many people doing great work and doing local action, and that's really where I try to focus.

But you talk to people nationally, you talk to people in other countries, even in developing countries where they don't have anything, they're doing these things to reduce plastic pollution and they're eliminating their single use plastic bags and they're eliminating some of the single use plastic products that are not necessary, and people seem to do okay without them.

- [Jim] The problem's getting worse.

Too much plastic going into landfills and oceans, breaking down into micro and nanoparticles with very real health and environmental risks.

But the treaty talks weren't just about cleaning up and recycling, but also tougher issues of reducing use, reducing production, and getting companies to share the responsibility of what happens to the plastics they make and use.

- Right now, every bit of responsibility is on the consumer and the taxpayer and the local government.

- Is is the goal then to see that the plastic producers help pay in my community for recycling plastic?

- Absolutely.

- [Jim] Wendt says getting companies to help foot the bill, an issue discussed at the South Korean conference, is not as farfetched as it might sound.

- So we work a lot with the businesses like Coke, Pepsi, Unilever, Walmart, Nestle.

They're not selling the plastic bottle, they're selling what's in it.

So they are on board with a policy that makes them responsible for the end of life of that product.

The problem is the oil and gas countries, the oil-rich countries.

- And petroleum goes into plastic.

- Yes, so all plastic's made from petroleum, it's all fossil fuels.

And I have to say also during the negotiations, the oil and gas delegation was bigger than most countries delegations.

- But we are here to end plastic pollution.

And whilst we may not get every element that we would wish for, there are certain elements that have to be there and that we get through a stake in the ground.

- [Jim] Negotiations on the international treaty will continue, as will the work that's being done locally and regionally.

The Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative was one of the partners in the Mississippi River Plastic Pollution Initiative, which kicked off in 2021, enlisting volunteers to record the kinds and locations of plastic waste.

The three top items: Cigarette butts, which are made from plastic, single-use bottles, and food wrappers.

And the findings have been used to get grant money for new projects in St. Louis and Baton Rouge - A big piece of these two EPA grants in St. Louis and Baton Rouge is building up community champions and getting action at the local level because I am a firm believer that in our region, that's the only way that we're going to do anything, is really grassroots.

- So I shouldn't be waiting around for some no governmental agency to come in and fix things.

- No, actually it's the opposite.

- So we've got this global problem, we've got this local problem.

It strikes me sometimes as global warming, we know it's happening, but as an individual, I don't think I can fix it.

- Mm-hmm.

- As an individual, can I help fix this?

- Yes, there are things as an individual, I mean, it's small steps, but everything is small, right?

- [Jim] Three things she says we can do: Cut down on using plastic grocery bags, don't use plastic water bottles except in emergencies, and work with local governments to support the idea of producer responsibility for their plastic products.

It would seem to me, correct me if I'm wrong, that the issues globally are the issues locally.

- Absolutely.

Getting policy passed is tough.

- But I can stop using plastic bags.

- Stop using plastic bags.

Stop using plastic water bottles.

And some of it's just making conscious choices.

- Well, thank you.

Jennifer Wendt is with the Mississippi River Cities and Towns initiative working on plastic pollution up and down the Mississippi River and just back from an international conference.

- Yes!

- Jennifer, thanks for joining us and thanks for the work you do.

Appreciate it.

- Thank you!

Thank you for having me.

- New president, new congress.

It's safe to say things are going to get very interesting, and that means steady work for a young St. Louis native who's been covering politics and government since he was a kid.

We thought it was a good time to revisit Brooke Butler's conversation last fall with online news publisher, Gabe Fleischer, who's an interesting story in his own right.

(alarm blaring) - [Brooke] I don't know about you, but the first thing I think about in the morning typically isn't politics.

But I know someone who does.

- I never get sick of talking about politics!

Myself, a little bit sometimes.

- Gabe Fleisher is the 22-year-old University City native who not only wakes up with politics on his mind, but shares his insights with over 47,000 others.

However, it's not just his political expertise that gets him in the headlines, it's the fact that he's been doing this since he was nine years old.

How has that evolved?

How has your interest evolved over the years?

- I mean, I think it's definitely, it's deepened.

I think it's gotten more serious.

I think, hopefully, more mature.

I started the newsletter when I was nine years old, so could definitely kind of cringe looking back at some of the earlier editions.

- [Brooke] While most kids were struggling with multiplication tables, Gabe was already dissecting the political landscape.

Inspired by his mom to put his thoughts into writing, he started his very own newsletter, initially just for his family, but as he grew, so did his subscriber list and his exposure.

Gabe has been featured in many major outlets because it's not every day that you see a pint-sized pundit.

- [Ari] Gabe, you wake up before school to put this together every day.

That seems like a lot of work day after day!

Why do you keep doing it?

- [Gabe] I find it's a lot of fun and I love being able to inform people each and every day, and I love reading people's comments and their info, and it's very interesting.

- And I mean, how does that feel to be, everybody wants to talk to you.

- I mean, it's definitely fun.

I mean, I cover politics 24/7, 365 days a year, and that it definitely feels like every four years suddenly everyone else starts paying attention and then kind of interest kind of increases.

So it's always fun to watch that happen kind of.

(groovy music) - [Brooke] Despite all the attention, Gabe's focus remains on one thing; bringing clear, unbiased news to his readers, even showing his commitment to factual statements in this 2017 satirical segment from "Full Frontal with Samantha.

B."

- How would you report on this interview that you're sitting through?

- Maybe "Nice Kid gets Bullied for Comedy."

- How about "Nice Kid gets Bullied for Comedy by Beautiful Woman."

- That might be veering into opinions and that might be getting a little away from fact.

- Okay, so my being beautiful is not a fact?

(Gabe laughing) - [Brooke] In an age of polarized media and sensational headlines, he's committed to keeping "Wake Up to Politics" a trustworthy source.

(cheerful music) - Well, the nice thing about writing an email newsletter, you hear from your readers all the time.

All they have to do to kind of talk to me is click "Reply" and then it goes right to my inbox, so I get a lot of feedback.

But I take seriously what my readers are telling me about my newsletter and about the news climate.

And a lot of it is just a reflection of how much I hear from people how exhausted they are, how depressed they are, how much of what the news they're receiving is just so downbeat and so emotional, and just like you're saying, so dramatic.

And so many people feel like there's so people yelling at them and trying to make them feel a certain way, and a lot of people are just sick of it.

And a lot of people are tuning out of politics as a result, even though I believe and a lot of people believe it's really important to be informed about politics.

- But more importantly for Gabe is reporting on the things that are working.

"Wake Up to Politics" reminds its readers that congress does get stuff done, despite their reputation, passing legislation on issues that impact a critical mass of Americans, but may not be as headline worthy for major news outlets.

Pretty impressive considering Gabe is a one man band.

After graduating from Georgetown this past spring, "Wake Up to Politics" is no longer just a side hobby done from his bedroom, it's his full-time gig with a paid subscription option to the newsletter that offers more insight into his reporting and he's open to growing his platform presence in the future, just maybe with a couple more staff members.

Do you ever get burnt out?

- I mean, it can be a lot.

Especially right now, we're right in the heat of an election cycle.

I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't genuinely, I really do love politics, I'm genuinely very fascinated by it.

I love learning more about it and I love being able to kind of, in some ways kind of teach people and just kind of inform people.

- Sounds like something I've heard before.

- [Gabe] I find it's a lot of fun and I love being able to inform people each and every day.

- Is your mom still subscribed to the newsletter?

- She does, I don't know if she reads it every morning, but she's still a subscriber.

She's still a subscriber.

- Yeah.

So while he may no longer make headlines as the pint-sized pundit, there's one thing I know for sure.

Gabe Fleisher won't be hitting the snooze button anytime soon.

(cheerful music fades) (exciting music) (fun, upbeat music) - [Reporter] Crisp sunshiny weather harrows the inauguration of the 32nd President of the United States.

- [Jim] On January 20th, 1949, Inauguration Day, Missourian Harry Truman, who become president when Franklin Roosevelt died in 1945, was being sworn in to his first full term.

But this wasn't just a big day for Missouri, it was a big day for St. Louis.

Truman had asked his old friend and fellow mason, Rabbi Samuel Thurman, to deliver the invocation before he took the Oath of Office, the first rabbi to ever do so.

Thurman had long been an important, even towering figure in St. Louis.

And not just in the Jewish community.

He'd been Chief Rabbi of United Hebrew Congregation since 1914 and often spoke to Christian congregations.

Thurman was known as a dynamic speaker, and although the picture quality of this early TV recording is not very good, you can certainly hear from Thurman's prayer that he was not merely a speaker, he was a good, old-fashioned orator.

- Almighty and merciful God.

God, the Lord of all nations, the hearts and minds of this Nation turn to Thee in this solemn moment in prayer and in gratitude.

- [Jim] Rabbi Thurman certainly did not rush through his moment.

This prayer went on for four minutes.

- Amen.

- [Reporter] The prayer was delivered by Rabbi Samuel Thurman.

- [Jim] Harry Truman was sworn in with his friend St. Louis Rabbi Samuel Thurman just off to the side this week in history in 1949.

(inspiring music fades) - And that's all we have for "Living St. Louis" this week.

We love hearing from you.

Send us your story ideas to "Living St. Louis" at NinePBS.org and follow us on our social channels.

For "Living St. Louis," I'm Anne-Marie Berger.

Thanks for watching.

Goodnight.

(upbeat, groovy music) (upbeat, groovy music continues) (upbeat, groovy music continues) (upbeat, groovy music continues) - [Narrator] "Living St. Louis" is funded in part by the Betsy & Thomas Patterson Foundation and the members of Nine PBS.