​Waste is one of the easiest places for an individual to actually move the needle on climate change, especially in three areas: organics, packaging, and textiles.

​This session will start at the local level: what's actually filling up North Carolina's landfills, and how you can reduce your waste. From there, we’ll move upstream: how the choices you make as a consumer — and the pressure you apply as a citizen — can shape what brands produce and what your local government does with waste in the first place.

​Walk away with practical steps for your own waste, and a plan for putting your consumer and citizen voice to use.

​Speakers

​Caroline DeLoach is Atlantic Packaging's first Director of Sustainability, advising companies on packaging recyclability, compostability, and the evolving EPR regulatory landscape. In 2026, she was appointed to California's SB 54 Producer Responsibility Advisory Board. She holds a B.A. from Georgetown and an MBA from Yale, where her packaging life cycle research earned Yale's industrial ecology award. Based in Charlotte, she champions circular economy solutions across the Southeast.

​Molly Hemstreet is Executive Director of The Industrial Commons. She co‑founded The Industrial Commons to support industrial workers across her region. In 2008, she founded Opportunity Threads, the largest U.S.‑based worker‑owned cut‑and‑sew facility. Under her leadership, The Industrial Commons received a National Science Foundation Innovation Engine award in 2024. Molly is an Ashoka Fellow, a TED Fellow, and an Emerson Collective Fellow. She cherishes time with her family and being in the woods.

​Christine Wittmeier is the Organics Recycling Team Lead for the Recycling and Materials Management Section at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Environmental Assistance and Customer Service. In this role, she provides statewide technical assistance on organics recycling, manages the Food Waste Reduction Grant, and leads the state’s food waste prevention campaign, Use the Food NC.

​Moderator

​Heather Beard is Executive Director of EarthShare North Carolina, a position she's held since 2006. Born and raised in Durham, she earned a B.A. in Business Administration at Meredith College and an M.A. in Environmental Policy at Tufts University, and previously worked with the Neuse River Foundation to establish the first Upper Neuse River Foundation program.

​​About NC Climate Week

​This event is part of NC Climate Week 2026, a statewide series of workshops, community events, and conversations designed to accelerate North Carolina forward from climate concern to climate action.

​Hosted by EarthShare North Carolina, the week brings together the people, businesses, and organizations shaping our environmental future. Free virtual Climate Action Workshops and partner-led events offer practical tools and opportunities to learn, connect, volunteer, and take action.

​​Join Us at the NC Climate Week Summit

​NC Climate Week culminates with the NC Climate Week Summit on Friday, October 2, 2026, in Durham.

​This one-day, in-person event features interactive sessions, cross-sector conversations, and leaders from Trane Technologies, NASCAR, ICF, NC Department of Environmental Quality, Clean Energy Fund of the Carolinas, MountainTrue, Xylem, NC Sustainable Energy Association, UNC Humanities, NC Wildlife Federation, NC Coastal Federation, NC League of Conservation Voters Foundation, and more.

​Explore the full program and register at ncclimateweek.org/summit.

​Let’s meet the moment, together. 🌎

​​Sponsor

​The Climate Action Workshops at NC Climate Week are supported by Xylem.