grace ridge project helps spread awareness of recycling · besides contributing to the new...
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Grace Ridge project helps spread awareness ofrecyclingBY BRIANNE FLEMING STAFF WRITER | Posted: Friday, March 20, 2015 4:29 pm
Grace Ridge Retirement Community’s CommunityBottle Cap Project is underway, and plastic lids beingcollected all over Morganton will be made into one ormore benches for the new Senior Deaf and BlindCommunity.
In early February, Grace Ridge partnered withCarolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge, SimplyGreen Recycling Service, Patton High School and theSenior Deaf and Blind Community, aiming to collectenough lids — 400 pounds worth — to be recycledinto a 6foot bench. Once enough are collected, GraceRidge will deliver them to Green Tree Plastics inEvansville, Indiana — a company that manufactureshighquality products out of recycled plastic.
Since the start of the project, Grace Ridge Director ofLife Enrichment Evelyn Beaver said she has seen thebottle caps come pouring in not only from theretirement home residents, but people in thecommunity. Many have started collections within theirhomes, workplaces or churches, bringing in entirebags of caps, she said.
“People are very passionate about it and have saidthey wanted to help,” she said. “It touches people toknow that someone could benefit from this.”
Beaver believes they already may have collected enough caps to form one bench, and bring backmore from their trip to Indiana in May.
“We’re looking at a oneofakind facility for Morganton and something that Morganton doesn’thave,” she said. “It’s a project that we want to happen. We need to take care of our environment, andwe’re doing something for an organization that is just starting up and will need as much help as theycan get.”
Bottle Cap Project
Patton High School senior Hannah Willcoxholds some bags full of bottle caps she hascollected as part of her senior project withGrace Ridge. The caps will be recycled intoa bench for the new Senior Deaf and BlindCommunity.
Besides contributing to the new community, the project is meant to spread awareness to people of allages about the importance of recycling.
“I hope this inspires people,” Beaver said. “It’s not just about the caps — people need to be awarethat we need to take care of the place we live in and of future generations. If it leads to awareness injust one individual, I think it’s great.”
Beaver said she also hopes young students learn a lot from this effort and develop lifelong recyclinghabits, like PHS senior Hannah Willcox has.
Willcox — who has taken on volunteering at Grace Ridge and participating in the Bottle Cap Projectas her senior project — said it has become less of a project for her and more of a lifestyle. Her seniorproject was technically over in January, but she still is encouraging her fellow students, including theAnchor Club and recycling team, to keep collecting, along with coworkers and members of herchurch.
With the school’s help, Willcox has collected more than 150 pounds of bottle caps, and the process isstill ongoing, she said.
“My family is pretty big on recycling, but I never thought about bottle caps or anything (beforethis),” she said. “Now I unscrew everyone’s bottle caps and throw them in my purse, and I’llprobably do that forever.”
A lot of the time, giving people and incentive to recycle and getting them excited about it helps togenerate more of a response, Willcox said.
“A lot of people who don’t recycle think they can’t really make a difference,” she said. “If they don’thave a reason to do it, they’re not going to do it. You can make so many things out of recycling. Thethings we throw away that are plastic and can’t decompose are taking up a lot of space.”
The project also has helped her meet people within the community and Grace Ridge, Willcox said. Ithas been fun for her to see everyone pitching in to contribute to a meaningful effort.
“It’s good to know that we can say that we helped with the linking of the retirement communitieshere, and that bench could be there forever,” she said. “It’s good to know our community is giving tothat.”
In the future, Willcox plans to keep recycling and possibly get involved with an environmental groupwhen she attends college at UNC Chapel Hill in the fall. She hopes this project inspires otherstudents to rethink their habits.
“It’s important for the younger generation to step up and do things,” she said. “We are the future.”
Bryan Cates, owner of Simply Green Recycling in Morganton, has contributed by asking hisresidential curbside recycling customers to save their caps in plastic bags for pickup day. Simply
Green also is the storing space for the project, and so far, about 200 pounds are being kept there. Heis glad that students, such as Willcox, are teaming up and taking part in this effort.
“If the young people have heard about it at school or have a friend doing it, they’re able to go homeand tell their parents to start recycling,” he said.
He hopes to see this project generate not only more awareness, but more action as well.
“People who maybe don’t recycle, for whatever reason, the bottle caps give them somewhere tostart,” he said. “This just draws up a little extra interest in the community. If anything can help withoverall awareness, it’s a good thing.
“Our company is excited and very glad they included us in this. Whatever little bit we can do to helpthem, we’ll do it.”
It’s not too late to start collecting. People are asked to stick with plastic bottle caps — lids from itemslike water and soda bottles, coffee cans, peanut butter jars, spray cans, medicine bottles and laundrydetergent. Metal and fast foodtype lids won’t be acceptable.
Bottle caps should be taken to Grace Ridge, located at 500 Lenoir Road. For pickup, people can callSimply Green Recycling at 8284371277. For more information, call Beaver at 8285808328.
Brianne Fleming can be reached at or 828432[email protected]