As a living testament to what children can accomplish, Ryan Hickman is an inspiration. Even at the age of 3, he knew recycling was his future. With his own recycling company, the 11-year-old Ryan is saving the environment and has donated $12,880 to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.
In 2012, his father took him to the recycling center to cash in a few cans and bottles.
“He enjoys sorting anything, and he liked putting the bottles in the machine,” Damion Hickman, Ryan’s supportive father, told a local newspaper. “He probably got two or three bucks, and he was so excited. Then he had to sort his change, so that meant more sorting.”
Ryan told his parents the next day that he wanted to hand out empty plastic bags to all his neighbors so they could save their recyclables. Their friends, families, and co-workers had also saved their cans and bottles for the young environmentalist.
Ryan serves Orange County, California, customers today. Every week, the 11-year-old boy sorts through cans and bottles from customers. Ryan’s parents and grandmother drive him to customers for pickups. They also help him lift heavy items, schedule events, and manage social media.
Since I was 3.5 years old, I have recycled over 1 million cans and bottles. As a proud 11-year-old, Ryan shared his recycling journey with pride.
“Every can and bottle I recycle is not ending up in oceans, landfills, lakes, rivers, reservoirs, or for animals to eat, get sick, or die.” That’s what keeps Ryan passionate about recycling, he emphasizes.
One soda can takes 9 years to break down in the environment, a plastic bottle takes 600 years, and a glass bottle takes 1 million years! It takes years for these materials to decompose, so recycling them is crucial. As a result, we will conserve natural resources, protect ecosystems, and reduce climate-changing carbon emissions.
Ryan said that getting letters and emails from all over the world encouraging him to keep recycling motivates him to keep doing so.
Ryan and his recycling company went viral in 2016. He has been featured on various websites, television shows, and radio stations around the world since then. The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Pickler & Ben Show, and Little Big Shots have all featured him. On Sirius/XM Radio and Ryan Seacrest’s syndicated radio program, Ryan was also interviewed by Maria Menounos.
He has already achieved a lot despite his young age. The 11-year-old wonder kid is a CNN Young Wonder, as well as a San Juan Capistrano Citizen of the Year. In the same year, Ryan was named one of Orange County Register’s 100 Most Influential People. A few months ago, he was named one of the top 20 finalists for TIME magazine’s 2020 Kid of the Year award.
Ryan’s recycling company collects and recycles plastic, glass, and aluminum beverage bottles. With his recycling revenue, he hopes to save for his college education and a full-size trash truck.
Ryan donates all proceeds from his company logo t-shirts to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach.
Learn more about Ryan’s recycling company and his admirable passion for saving the environment by visiting his website. See why he was hailed as the 2017 CNN Young Wonder in the video below.
ARTICLE SOURCE : mypositiveoutlooks.com
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