Featured Image Credit: Ryan’s Recycling Company
By Alice Morris
Ryan Hickman is an entrepreneur and an environmentalist who launched his own recycling business back in 2012. Today, Ryan’s Recycling is a successful and rapidly expanding company that is receiving national attention.
Oh yeah, did we mention that Ryan is only seven years old?
It all started when Ryan was about three. After accompanying his father to a recycling center, Ryan became fascinated with the recycling process and before long, he was “hooked” on all things recycling.
“He really loved the actual act of putting all the cans and bottles into the machine and getting money for it,” said Ryan’s father, Damion Hickman. With the help of his parents, the ambitious toddler launched a business, Ryan’s Recycling.
Five years on, Ryan has collected over 200,000 cans and bottles and saved over $10,000.
To expand upon the business’s success, Ryan’s Recycling began selling t-shirts on its website last August. The company donates the proceeds to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach to buy food and medicine for the animals there.
Ryan’s parents say that Ryan’s primary concern is the environment and keeping trash out of the oceans, but it’s clear that this simple initiative has escalated into something far more than a hobby.
In April of 2016, Ryan received an award for his conservation efforts from the Newport Beach chapter of the DAR, the Daughters of the American Revolution. He was also featured on the cover of the Capistrano Dispatch’s “green issue.”
Ryan’s Recycling continues to build momentum in 2017. Greenpeace International has promoted Ryan’s Recycling on their social media sites and earlier this year, Ryan appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show to talk about his company. You can watch the adorable segment below:
DeGeneres Show last month.
As his business continues to expand, Ryan’s message remains the same.
“If you already recycle, just keep on recycling. If you don’t recycle, start recycling.”
It’s a simple message, but certainly an important one.
Ryan’s Recycling is based out of the family’s home in San Juan Capistrano, California and if you live in Orange County, you can schedule an appointment for Ryan’s Recycling Company to come pick up your bottles and cans.
Learn more about Ryan’s Recycling here.