We recently moved into a new neighborhood. Despite the lockdown because of the pandemic, our first day as new residents we met several friendly people who were out and about (with masks ON, of course!) And one of the first things that was mentioned to us was “Don’t throw out those cans and bottles! We have a collection point for them.”

We have always recycled our cans and bottles. It can be inconvenient to separate them and then take them to a recycling center. But we have faithfully done that for years so we were all in favor of a collection point right in our housing development.

But the surprise was, that these cans and bottles are being recycled by a KID of 11 years old…and he has been doing this since he was the age of THREE!!!!!

Ryan’s Recycling is managed by this 11 year old. He has a passion of recycling. He spends time every week sorting cans and bottles from his customers and getting them ready to take to the recycle center. An article on his website (yes he even has a website!) says that Ryan “has since recycled over 1.2 million bottles and cans (over 67 tons) over the past eight years in his effort to clean up the planet and to keep pollution out of our oceans and landfills. Ryan leads and organizes weekly beach clean-up events in his community and he travels internationally speaking about recycling and saving our planet from plastic pollution.” He has been on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, featured in national news and magazines, and has received numerous awards for his mission to clean the environment.

Just imagine this…a child has recycled over 1.2 MILLION bottles and cans! I’m so impressed with his dedication to his mission, his faithfulness to keep at it for so many years, and his determination to get the word out.

The world could use more people (both kids AND adults) doing positive things for the environment. Imagine if there were a Ryan or two in every community! Not just words, not just complaining, but real ACTION! I’m very pleased to be part of Ryan’s Recycling community and I’m proud to introduce him to you. Spread the word. Let’s see how many more Ryan’s are out there just needing a bit of encouragement and a role model.

You can find out more about Ryan and his work on his website https://ryansrecycling.com/