(Omaha, NE/KETV) – The Iowa Attorney General is warning of scams as recovery efforts begin. The federal government is also offering tips on how to make sure you don’t fall victim. Experts warn homeowners to heed caution through the cleanup.  Dan Reuting, with the Professional Remodeling Organization of Nebraska-Omaha, told KETV the concern is that the people who were hit by the April 26th storms are taken care of, long after the tents are gone and when they need to start rebuilding. The remodeling organization said scammers will target these areas and vulnerable homeowners. “Being affordable and good are not always synonymous,” Reuting said. “Most of them, they’re just looking to cut a corner,” he said, “And when you’re looking for warranty work and to make sure your stuff’s done right. Having a local number to call is always a good thing.”

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has some advice too. “Beware of high-pressure sales. Some of these con artists or bad contractors go door to door. And if a homeowner doesn’t sign right away for the repairs, they say, ‘Well, it’ll probably be three to six months before we can get to you.’ That’s a high-pressure sales tactic. So don’t fall for it.” Bird said her office is ready to hold bad actors accountable. But first, homeowners have to report it.

“If any Iowan is having something happen where someone shows up, says they’re helping, helping to clean up and hands them a bill unexpectedly, call my office right away,” Bird said. “Sometimes these storms also bring out the scammers, the shady contractors and those who are looking to make money off of other people’s tough luck. And so we stand ready to hold those people accountable.”

The Federal Trade Commission warns FEMA and the small business administration will never ask for an application fee for assistance. They add anyone who asks you to pay in full upfront is usually bad news. Bird said to make a careful and critical examination of your contractors, make sure you communicate with your insurance, not them, and get everything in writing. And, if you’ve been swindled, call the Iowa Attorney General’s office at 1-888-777-4590. You can also file a complaint form Iowa here.

Bird says “We will do everything that we can to help to hold them accountable and to help Iowans get their homes and businesses repaired.”

(Radio Iowa) – Research at the Iowa State University Ames Lab is working to turn waste plastic into fuel and other chemicals. Aaron Sadow is leading the research to find a way to keep plastics out of landfills. “So when we just throw out our plastic waste we’re throwing out about one-point-three (1.3) billion barrels of oil every year the equivalent of that amount,” he says. Sadow says plastics have been an issue for 40 years and they may have found a way to successfully solve the problem. “The plastic waste goes through a catalyst and becomes chemicals, recyclable plastics that don’t end up in landfills, or fuels,” he says. “There’s a need for sustainable aviation fuel and plastic waste could provide that.” He says it’s been a scientific mystery to unlock how to reuse some plastics.

“When it’s formulated, it becomes basically non recyclable. And that’s the reason for the science challenge, as well as the practical challenge associated with recycling,” Sadow says. “So what we’re trying to do is break the chemical bonds and make new chemicals, new materials that address this waste problem.” They received nearly 13 million dollars in an Energy Frontier Research Center grant from the U-S Department of Energy to do the research. Sadow says the goal is to also create a monetary incentive for people to recycle plastic. “The process we’ve developed turns into a one step system that could be located at a materials recovery research center, at a landfill that collects waste and makes diesel, and this could be going to our farms to our power plants,” he says.

Sadow says the diesel they create would be comparable in cost to the diesel now in use and will be cleaner burning. “Normal diesel is about 15 P-P-M, parts per million sulfur and we’re under point one,” he says. Sadow says the diesel from recycled plastic can also be blended with biodiesel. He says they are talking with the city of Ames to look at testing out the fuel created from plastic Sadow made his comments during a presentation to the Board of Regents.