2022 Hard 2 Recycle Hero
Getting creative to keep recyclables out of the landfill
Rachel on what volunteering means to her and her Glitch teammates.
We welcome volunteers from all over Buncombe County and beyond, of all ages and backgrounds, who come into this community from all kinds of life experiences.
What do they all have in common?
They care enough to take action—and then they keep taking action—to build a climate-resilient future we can all thrive in.
Meet Rachel, a longtime Hard 2 Recycle volunteer and our 2022 Waste Reduction Hero for her creative action to keep recyclable materials out of the landfill.
“I started volunteering at Hard 2 Recycle in seventh grade, with Glitch, the county-wide robotics team. That’s where I got introduced to the idea of keeping electronics out of the landfill, and that’s been an essential part of my other creative projects across the years,” Rachel said.
Glitch has been a long-time Hard 2 Recycle partner. Come to any of our six collection events each year, and you’ll see the neon green Glitch logo on more than a dozen volunteers—students and parents—who are collecting and sorting recyclables.
“We didn't want to just be a robotics club,” Rachel said, “We wanted to help. GreenWorks has been essential to showing us community needs with regard to the environment. Volunteering with Hard 2 Recycle is a perfect way for us to help the community."
During her six years with GreenWorks, Rachel has found creative ways to give a new life to hard-to-recycle materials.
She has recruited her fellow team members to collect electronics from Hard 2 Recycle for the club to take apart and learn from.
Rachel also leads her teammates to scour Hard 2 Recycle for electronics that can be repaired. The club donates fixed items to be sold at our local Habitat for Humanity Restore.
Rachel also spearheads an effort to collect jeans at Hard 2 Recycle for Blue Jeans Go Green, a project that recycles denim into home insulation for Habitat for Humanity houses.
“We come out as a team. It’s very inspiring to see people taking time out of their day to show up and work together in that way,” Rachel said.
See— all you really need in order to have a BIG impact is to see what needs to be changed and then to take action to make it happen.
"We come out as a team."
Glitch 2.0, our own Buncombe County-wide robotics team, and their dedicated parents came out in force for the November 2022 Hard 2 Recycle.
"I love to see the difference we’re making.”
Like Rachel, we’re taking action on the things we know will make the biggest impact.
We’re restoring our urban tree canopy, protecting the native pollinators that run our food ecosystem, cleaning up our waterways, and educating our neighbors on how they can get involved too.
A group of generous donors have offered us a $50,000 match on gifts made before December 31, challenging this community to be even bolder in our efforts to create a climate-resilient Asheville.
Every dollar you donate through midnight tomorrow night doubles your impact. Will you give today?
We’re investing in the programs and projects that will do the most to create a climate-resilient future for Asheville.
Rachel told us: “Volunteering gives me hope. You hear about climate change and feel anxious. I love coming to Hard 2 Recycle, and physically making a difference. I love to see the difference we’re making.”
Will you join us in investing in the priorities that make a difference?