Caught Green-Handed: Cliff Hall

Interviewed by Frances Richardson

“If we are being good stewards of what God gave us, why are we throwing so much away?”

That’s the question that motivates Rockbridge resident Cliff Hall to take it upon himself to recycle materials that others waste and turn them into a source of revenue for charitable organizations that are important to him, while also reducing the amount of waste that would otherwise go into our local landfill.

Cliff was born and raised in Rockbridge. After years of service in the Coast Guard and U.S.  Special Forces in Vietnam, he worked in Utah, collecting scrap metal. When he returned home to Rockbridge in 1980, he started his own business building fences.

Recycling for a cause was inspired by Cliff’s dad, who collected aluminum cans for Salem Children’s Home. Cliff began his own recycling mission by collecting the “pop-tops” from cans, then recycling the cans themselves, redeeming them for cash that he donated to Ronald McDonald Houses, which housed members of his own family during a great-nephew’s treatments.

Over the past decade, Cliff has raised and donated $5300 by recycling. In 2025 alone, he diverted 738 lbs. of aluminum from entering the waste stream, collecting cans from high waste-producing sites, such as Lime Kiln concerts. He sorts the bags of waste, sends the glass to the county recycling center, and flattens the cans to sell to an agency in Radford, where the going rate is highest – 60 cents a pound for loads of more than 200 lbs.  He also helps Grace Episcopal Church collect “sheen” (plastic bags and film). For every 1,000 lbs. of it, the church receives a bench fabricated from the recycled plastic in exchange. 

Cliff has always looked for ways to help people. He has been a member of the Kerr’s Creek Volunteer Fire Department since he was 13. He regularly takes trailer-loads of clothes, food and other items to the Cowboy Church mission in Pulaski – and members of the mission now collect plastic for him to donate to Grace Episcopal. After the flooding in North Caroline in 2024, he was particularly gratified to deliver, along with a load of other essentials, a bicycle donated by a local Walmart employee to a boy who’d just lost everything. 

“There’s something everybody can do,” says Cliff, an exemplary citizen who generously gives time and money to sustain others and the environment.  

Photo caption: Volunteer recycler Cliff Hall accepts aluminum pans for recycling from Frances Richardson, a member of Rockbridge Conservation’s Waste Reduction Committee.

Caught Green-Handed is a Rockbridge Conservation initiative that shines a spotlight on local businesses, organizations, and individuals who are taking meaningful steps to protect and improve our environment. Whether through sustainable practices, conservation leadership, or everyday actions that reduce environmental impact, honorees are publicly recognized for doing the right thing when no one was looking. Those selected earn the distinction of being Caught Green-Handed Certified—a mark of local environmental leadership and community stewardship.