They're not retiring from recycling
Plus: New Ledger podcast episode with Tim Miner — Charlotte attorney disciplined for 8th time by state bar — City pays $2.17M in pledge fund settlement — Spirit adds 3 nonstop flights at CLT
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Aldersgate residents Ted and Gaye Smith spend over 40 hours a month collecting, cleaning and driving their retirement community’s plastic to Charlotte’s innovation center
Most of the plastic items that Ted (left) and Gaye Smith collect are takeout trays from the dining areas at Aldersgate retirement community. The couple wipes out any remaining food and packs the plastic containers into brown paper bags to give to the Innovation Barn, which turns them into plastic bricks and filament for 3D printers.
by Lindsey Banks
Ted and Gaye Smith are a two-person recycling powerhouse.
For the past eight months, they’ve led a recycling initiative at Aldersgate retirement community together.
Every Friday afternoon, the couple makes the short drive in their white sedan to the Aldersgate reception desk to collect hundreds of plastic recyclables dropped off by fellow residents — mostly plastic takeout boxes from Aldersgate dining services, which can’t be placed in curbside recycling. Some residents bring their recycling directly to the Smiths’ front porch.
Then, Ted, 86, and Gaye, 85, clean and count the items that are No. 5 plastic and store them in their garage. Every other Thursday, they drive five miles down the road and drop off the recyclables at the Innovation Barn, a joint project between the city of Charlotte and a public-private nonprofit organization called Envision Charlotte that focuses on sustainability issues.
“People have offered to help,” Gaye said. “The problem is, not many people have that much space in their garages.”
“It’s nice to have a two-car garage and only one car,” Ted added with a chuckle.
At the Innovation Barn, the Smiths’ plastic is transformed into things like bricks, benches and filament for 3D printers.
Since the Smiths started their Aldersgate recycling initiative in June 2022, they have collected more than 16,000 items for the Innovation Barn, which adds up to nearly a half-ton of recycling. For their very first trip to the barn, the Smiths took 375 items to the Innovation Barn. Now, they’re taking closer to 1,500 items every trip.
“This is something every one of us can do,” Gaye said. “I don’t care if you’re 94 or 24.”
“We’re actually very, very proud of the residents picking up on this,” she added.
Expanding the initiative: The Smiths, who have been married 64 years, moved to Aldersgate nine years ago from Orlando, Fla., to be closer to their son and his family. They met at Ohio Wesleyan University. Before retirement, Ted worked as a program analyst for the IBM Federal Systems Division, and Gaye served as a pastor for the United Methodist Church.
They have always been advocates for the environment, and Gaye is a climate ambassador for echoAmerica, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that provides mainstream organizations with tools and resources to elevate their climate leadership and advocacy.
The Smiths have sent letters to other retirement communities in Charlotte to encourage recycling initiatives, including Southminster, the Sheridan at Eastside, and Matthews Glen and the Pines at Davidson.
“Gaye and Ted are such great examples of how people can make such a difference, not only by collecting and bringing materials to the barn but being advocates in their community and beyond,” said Amy Aussieker, executive director of Envision Charlotte, in an email to The Ledger.
Aussieker said residents of The Pines at Davidson have been inspired by the Smith’s efforts in Aldersgate and have been working with Envision Charlotte as well.
“It is going to take all of us changing our behaviors to create a more sustainable future and watching the influence two people can have on a community gives hope to how we can bring our entire city and county along to a better future,” Aussieker said.
The couple has also sent letters to 18 churches and six colleges in the area and even sent a letter to the county manager, Dena Diorio, to ask for an education initiative to inform people what can and cannot be recycled.
“I believe that a good portion of the people in Mecklenburg County want a recycling program, but they want to know what goes in those bins and what doesn’t,” Gaye said. “They want to do it, but they need to know how to do it right.”
One case in point, she says: Recyclables placed in plastic bags cannot be recycled and instead go to area landfills.
“You will see people who have religiously put their recyclables out in plastic bags,” Gaye said. “It just automatically goes to the landfill.”
The Smiths are hoping to lead by example. Two people can’t fix all of the environment’s woes by themselves, but they’re resolute in doing what they can to make a difference.
“We can’t turn this whole ship around with fossil fuels as much as we’d like to,” Gaye said. “We can cut down the amount of travel we do, but not many people are going to do that. But, we can all pitch in with plastic.”
Lindsey Banks is a staff reporter for The Ledger: lindsey@cltledger.com
🎧 New podcast episode: Nonprofit connects local artists to the community to ensure that ‘Charlotte is Creative’
Charlotte’s creative community is a large contributor to the city’s culture. Tim Miner co-founded Charlotte is Creative with his longtime friend Matt Olin to support Charlotte’s artists and connect them to businesses and organizations in the community.
The non-profit is known for the Queen City Quiz Show, the HUG (Helpful Unfettered Gift) microgrant program and the Charlotte chapter of CreativeMornings, a worldwide monthly breakfast lecture series. The nonprofit also has a newsletter called The Biscuit, for which Miner serves as editor.
In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, podcast host Steve Dunn of Miles Mediation and Arbitration sits down with Miner to talk about:
the evolution of the arts in Charlotte
how the city can celebrate and embrace its artistic side
whether uptown should be called “downtown”
what makes someone a “Charlotte native”
This podcast episode is part of a series highlighting winners of The Ledger’s 40 Over 40 Awards, presented by U.S. Bank, which honor and celebrate often unheralded people over the age of 40 who are making important contributions to Charlotte. Mark your calendars: This year’s celebration is April 27 at the Charlotte Museum of History. (Details to come; independent judges are now judging the nominations.)
How to listen: The Charlotte Ledger Podcast is available on our website, as well as on podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast and Google Podcasts. We release new episodes on Fridays. Most are under 25 minutes.
You might be interested in these Charlotte events
Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:
SUNDAY: 2023 Digi-Bridge Presents Bots & Brews, 2-4 p.m. Lenny Boy Brewing, Griffith Hall. Come watch and enjoy this first-of-its-kind community competition for adults and kids at Bots & Brews. All proceeds will benefit Digi-Bridge’s competition robotics program for the 2023-2024 school year. Ticket prices include food, drinks, and swag! $10 for kids. $20 for adults.
FRIDAY, MARCH 3: Growing our Greenways Group Walk, 9-10:30 a.m. Seversville Park. Join Sustain Charlotte, AARP Charlotte, Partners for Parks and Carolina Thread Trail for a casual walk as we explore the Irwin and Stewart Creek greenways. Learn how greenways are built and how a complete network would benefit people of all ages and abilities. Free event.
Check out the full Ledger events board.
List your event on the Ledger events board.
This week in Charlotte: CMS extends superintendent hiring timeline; Stephanie Hand says she’ll run for city council against Tariq Bokhari; Change.org petition opposes Rea Road rezoning; CLT to close a security checkpoint for renovation
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Education
CMS extends timeline for superintendent hiring: (WFAE) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ search committee says it expects to hire a new leader in May instead of the original plan to hire a superintendent by April to allow more time to get input from lower-income, mostly minority neighborhoods that were underrepresented in earlier public engagement sessions.
Belmont Abbey hopes to raise $100M: (Observer, subscriber-only) Belmont Abbey College in Gaston County announced a $100M capital campaign that will fund physical and academic improvements, including a new monastery and performing arts center.
Politics
City Council rematch: (Observer) Democrat Stephanie Hand said she plans to run for Charlotte City Council District 6 this year, setting up a rematch of a race she lost to Republican incumbent Tariq Bokhari last year by 357 votes.
Heavyweights oppose 4-year terms: (Observer) Former Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl Jr. and former Mayor Richard Vinroot say they oppose the move to switch City Council terms from 2 years to 4 years. Writing in The Charlotte Observer, the two say the proposal should be called the “Sitting Council Protection Act” because it would make it “harder to ‘throw the rascals out’ as any future misbehavior may merit.”
Local news
City pays $2.17M settlement for alleged fraudulent pledge fund: (Top Class Actions) The City of Charlotte agreed to a $2.17M class action settlement for claims that it wrongfully deducted funds from weekly salaries to support the unauthorized Charlotte-Mecklenburg Volunteer Police Pledge Fund. Plaintiffs argued that they never received the promised benefits.
Charlotte attorney disciplined by state bar again: (Observer, subscriber-only) Michael DeMayo, a prominent Charlotte attorney, has been disciplined for the eighth time since 1999 by N.C. State Bar. This time, he was placed on two-year probation after the bar found he violated professional standards by disparaging a former colleague to a client and then falsely denying it.
Business
More office tower troubles ahead? (Ledger 🔒) The Charlotte Plaza building and One Wells Fargo Center on South College Street are reportedly struggling to pay back their office property loans as tenants like real estate company CBRE and Wells Fargo leave the buildings.
SouthPark divided: (Ledger 🔒) At a public hearing Monday in front of the City Council, SouthPark residents’ opinions were divided over a rezoning request from Florida-based developer The Related Group for a mixed-use development with 730 apartments on Colony Road.
Petition against Rea Road rezoning: (Change.org) A change.org petition has been created to ask the Charlotte City Council to turn down a rezoning request from developer RK Investors Charlotte LLC for a 53-acre site located in south Charlotte, between Rea Road and Elm Lane. Opponents say the six-story building height does not match the character of the area and the construction would disrupt the wildlife living in wetlands.
From the Ledger family of newsletters
Wednesday (🔒)
Challenges of air travel in a wheelchair: Charlotte native Twila Adams uses a wheelchair scooter to get around, but she relies on strangers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport whenever she travels. Airline writer Ted Reed chronicled what a journey through Charlotte Douglas entails and breaks down the issues that passengers with disabilities face when they fly.
Spirit adds 3 flights: Low-fare carrier Spirit Airlines is adding daily nonstop flights from CLT to Los Angeles, Dallas and Nashville starting on May 5.
Friday (🔒)
Strategy behind airport restaurants: Charlotte Douglas International Airport and airport concessions operator HMS Host hosted a media event last month with 10 of the airport’s restaurants, and The Ledger got an insider’s view of what it’s like to operate a restaurant at the airport.
Is Starbucks leaving malls? The Starbucks at SouthPark Mall has closed, and there’s no longer a Starbucks at Carolina Place Mall. Could it be a part of a trend to move away from traditional malls?
CLT reduces security checkpoints amid construction: Starting March 17, Charlotte Douglas International Airport will only have 16 lanes at four checkpoints during the summer instead of the current 20 total security lines at five checkpoints as Checkpoint B is renovated and expanded from two security lanes to eight.
Small business spotlight: Charlotte resident Jeff Taylor founded Soulful Sounds, a DJ and mobile entertainment company, in 1998 in New York, and he says his passion for his work has kept him in business for more than 20 years.
After totaling his car five months ago, Bob Page was forced to rely on Charlotte’s No. 14 bus to get around the city. Page, who is the director of student media at Queens University, shares his experience riding the bus and how he has found a community among his fellow riders.
Zoran Krneta, Charlotte FC’s sporting director, shares how “Volare,” a 1958 Italian song by singer-songwriter Domenico Modugno, bonded the team the night before the tragic death of Anton Walkes and could become the team’s new anthem. Krneta also talks about how he built the team’s roster and his strategy to have the team improve this upcoming season on The Charlotte Ledger Podcast.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project