Meet Ryan Hickman | Founder of Ryan’s Recycling and Project3R

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan Hickman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
My nonprofit org, Project3R does beach clean ups down our Southern California coastline and leads education events in schools about recycling and taking care of our oceans. We’re so lucky to be supported by all the volunteers that come out and help us pick up trash to make the environment better. We typically do 6-8 big clean ups a year in addition to my local beach clean ups every weekend and we partner with amazing organizations like the Anaheim Ducks, Cox Communications and many more to make the magic happen.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m only 16 years old so I’m really just getting started. I’d say the thing I’m most proud of is being able to inspire others to take action. I get so excited when we have a huge turnout at our beach clean ups or when I get fan mail from grade school kids who want to be like me and make a difference. I’ve been recycling and doing our community clean ups since I was 3 or 4 years old so it’s second nature to me now. I’ve had plenty of speed bumps along the way but I always tell kids that I talk with to just stay focused and global change can be made in baby steps. I’ve learned a lot of lessons about management and marketing and public speaking and I’m still learning every day. I want everyone to know that if a kid like me can make a difference in the world, you can too.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We’d go to the beach for sure for a beach fire or check out the tidepools in Laguna. I’d take them to see Wyland’s Gallery in Laguna Beach, The Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Canyon and probably take them to Donut Hut for breakfast in San Juan Capistrano, Stacks Pancakes in Dana Point for lunch, and the Olives Branch restaurant in San Juan Capistrano for dinner. For dessert, we’d hit up Lucky Dog for Gelato in San Clemente.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would love to give a shout out to our amazing team at Project3R for their dedication to making the environment better thru our clean up efforts. Thank you to everyone who sends me emails and messages from all around the world telling me how they are doing their part to save the planet. It really inspires me to keep going!

Website: https://www.project3r.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryans_recycling/

Twitter: https://x.com/ryans_recycling

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryansrecycling

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RyanHickmanRecycling

Other: https://www.ryansrecycling.com

Image Credits
@andrewphoto.ca