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Archive for Recycling – Page 2

Ryan Hickman- Ryan’s Recycling

Posted by noahyeck

· Friday, September 23rd, 2022

· 1 Comment

Ryan Hickman didn’t wait long to become an entrepreneur. At the age of three, Ryan saw an issue with the amount of trash on our planet and the lack of people recycling. Ryan started by going door to door collecting his neighbor’s recycling for them and taking it to the recycling plant with his dad. In 2022, Ryan is able to have a much greater impact on the world. He travels the world hosting events for people to collect trash on the beaches. When Ryan was interviewed by NBC he said his organization has picked up over 160,000 pounds of trash all over the world.

Ryan didn’t stop by just doing the physical labor of picking up recycling. He continued his mission by starting an awareness t-shirt company in which all the profits go towards rescuing marine animals. He also started an education program for kids and adults to learn the importance of recycling and the effect trash can have on our environment.

I give credit to Ryan for being able to identify a problem, and then take action to make an impact on the World. If Ryan can make this big of an impact on the World at the age of three that leaves no excuse for anyone else.

1 Comment

Categories : Recycling

City Bonfires-A Mini Mobile Bonfire

Posted by Sophia Whiteman

· Friday, November 5th, 2021

· 6 Comments

City Bonfires was created and is still produced in Maryland. It was created by Chris McCasland and Michael Opalski when both of their jobs were impacted because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of this, they were both at home a lot more than they were used to and started looking for something to do with all of this time they had recently acquired. I think that it is really great that they make everything right in Maryland and with American made materials.

City Bonfires sells several different product packages on their website. They sell just the “portable firepit”, three different smore packs (which include smore ingredients since these are safe to cook over, and scented ones which interestingly you can also still cook over. I think this is a very interesting concept and something that has been missing on the market. Yes there have been other little fire makers out there, but none that are made out of food grade wax and plant based materials that makes them perfectly safe to cook things like smores over.

I really like the idea and execution of City Bonfires. I believe that with innovation cool niche products like this can really make a go of it. There is nothing quite as perfect and well thought out as this product on the market. I think it is very fun that this whole company came from the pandemic.

Shop Page – City Bonfires

6 Comments

Categories : Baking, Business, Business::Entrepreneurs, Candles, Convenience, Cooking, Creating, Entrepreneurship, Experience, Handmade, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Millennial Entrepreneurs, Online Companies, Recycling

Jason Li’s iReTron

Posted by flynnac21

· Monday, October 4th, 2021

· 2 Comments

As a sophomore in high school, Jason Li became a CEO. He cared about the planet and wanted to take action. He wanted to make people’s shift to sustainability rewarding. He came up with iReTon which allows people to sell their old technology for cash. He even went on Shark Tank, as a high school senior, and got a $100,000 investment from Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran. He has also started another social enterprise, UProspie. He was able to capitalize on his ideas at a young age which is really inspirational.

He targeted the problem of people not knowing what to do with their old devices and disposing of them in landfills. iReTron allows people to sell, upgrade, or recycle their old device which is ultimately better for the environment. People just have to find the device they have, ship it in, and get paid for their product. iReTron then refurbishes the old devices and sells them to people at a reduced cost benefitting the buyer and seller. He streamlined the electronic recycling process making it easy for customers and more appealing.

Jason Li is an exemplary young entrepreneur. He is driven by his passion for the environment, and he acts on this by making sure the recycling process is constantly being monitored for quality. Since he created a business off of what he is passionate about, customers are drawn to him and his product. Li does not allow the business to create money off of the recycling process which shows he truly cares about what he is doing. He also values customer’s time which makes the process quick and easy for customers. His imagination and follow through make him a good entrepreneur.

Although he did not innovate recycling, he innovated the process for electronic recycling. He enforced the idea that you do not have to create a whole new thing in order to be an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur can stream line a process and create a new business cycle not just create new products. He showed that passion really does make a difference in a business. Ultimately, Jason Li is a star young entrepreneur, because he was able to create a change that benefitted the environment and is helpful to people.

2 Comments

Categories : Environment, Recycling, Young Entrepreneur

BBMilitaryWifeLife

Posted by Sophia Whiteman

· Tuesday, September 14th, 2021

· 5 Comments

BBMilitaryWifeLife is an amazing company started by a wife and mother named Brook. She was inspired to start this company after having a blog. However, once she realized that she could combine her two passions of earrings and awareness for the military community, she came up with BBMilitaryWifeLife. Consequently, this company takes worn military uniforms and turns them into treasured and beautiful earrings.

This is a unique company as I have never seen another company take uniforms and make jewelry from them. Most of the time you see people repurposing military uniforms it is by making bags, scarves, and stuffed animals. I believe that the idea of being able to wear a piece of a uniform is very cool and a new part of the market.

I find this company specifically inspiring because my sister and I came up with a business idea for the Venture Battle very similar to this company that reused military uniforms into dog bandanas. Having invested time and done research into this particular market, I have a great appreciation for what Brook and her company are trying to do. The idea of reusing military uniforms seems to be a great idea because not only do people that have family members involved in the military want these products, but also just patriotic Americans want to support a company that repurposes military uniforms.

5 Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Military, Recycling

Tim Brown- Allbirds

Posted by Wilsongr19

· Friday, December 4th, 2020

· 1 Comment

Allbirds’ Story

Tim Brown is a New Zealand native who has long been involved in the merino wool industry. Brown was fascinated with this material due to its durability, sustainability, and comfortability. At one point, Brown realized that this material would be great for the shoe industry, and that’s when Allbirds was born. Tim Brown then teamed up with renewables expert Joey Zwillinger; together, they invented a whole new shoe that would forever change the footwear industry. Allbirds uses raw, all-natural materials comprised of four main elements trees, merino wool, sugar, and their patented Trino technology, a yarn-like material made from trees and wool. After much refining, Brown, and Zwillinger were ready to launch their first product, the Wool Runners. The Allbirds Wool Runners were designed to bring comfort to the DNA of an everyday shoe. The Wool Runner was a great success and is the primary reason that the startup is in the position that it is in today. Allbirds later produced all different kinds of shoes, disrupting the industry even further. They created running, weatherproof, and boat shoes all of which use their natural ingredients.

More About Materials

First, let’s talk about Allbirds most important material, Merino Wool. Allbirds has teamed up with ZQ Merino to ensure that the sheep used are well kept and healthy. Also, Allbirds has a shearing process that uses up to 60% less energy than typical synthetic shoes. The Tree material used in Allbirds comes from tree farms that are located in South Africa. These farms rely on rainfall to water their farms, not irrigation. This lowers the carbon footprint of Allbirds even lower, and not to mention the packaging, laces, and insoles are made from recycled cardboard, bottles, and castor bean oil. Tim Browns Allbirds had truly done something that had never been done before and, for that, tremendously succeeded. Together with Joey Zwillinger, Brown had truly made a great product that was sustainable, fashionable, and comfortable.

1 Comment

Categories : Environment, Recycling, shoes, Sustainable, Uncategorized

Glass Half Full

Posted by LinnikED20

· Sunday, September 13th, 2020

· No Comments

For the past decade, young adults are becoming more and more aware of the impact that waste has on the Earth’s oceans and land. There have been multiple startups to help clean the oceans, but what about replenishing the sand on the beaches? Louisiana, the hot spot for hurricane hits, has its coast being greatly eroded every time there is flooding.

But in 2018, three Tulane University students decided to fight for their home. Max Landy, Max Steitz, and Franziska Trautmann started Plant the Peace, a nonprofit organization that “aims to fight climate change at the intersection of education technology and carbon reduction.” This nonprofit’s website has free, educational games that anyone can play. And for every 10 correct answers that a gamer achieves, Plant the Peace plants one tree. This worldwide site is taking a step in the right direction and helping other business become more sustainable as well.

This past year, the students had the idea to replenish Louisiana beaches, and started another nonprofit. How did they begin this? They built a mobile, glass-pulverizing machine that turns glass into sand. It was designed to be mobile so that they could transport it from location to location start the process. Once they began to accumilate large amounts of glass bottles, they bought a warehouse and moved their project inside. They also set up about 20 sites around the city for used glass to be dropped off, and partnered with businesses in the area to house large recycling bins. Over the spring and summer, they touched up and facelifted the warehouse to make it an easier environment to work in. Now, they are working harder than ever to minimize the amount of glass bottles Tulane has, and to make sand for their beaches.

No Comments

Categories : Enviornmental, Recycling, Websites

Greta Thunberg: Friday Fame

Posted by Paige Snyder

· Monday, September 30th, 2019

· 2 Comments

Greta Thunberg is a 16-year-old from Sweden who, unlike the vast majority of millennial entrepreneurs, is an innovator within the social and political environments. She is a climate activist: informing people about the harmful effects of climate change, pushing governments and corporations to change their emissions policies, and changing the way the entire world views the climate crisis.

Every Friday since 2018, Thunberg has led “Fridays for Future”, a movement that encourages students to skip school and demand governmental action for climate change. On September 20^th, 2019, she led the largest singular climate strike in history, with an estimated 4 million people from over 161 countries joining her in protest. Thunberg is driven by her passion for the environment, and vision to change governmental climate regulations. She has even been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the mass movement that she created, and ultimately, her contribution to global unity.

Thunberg has appeared on TED Talks, opened for the UN Climate Action Summit, and spoken to many influential political figures, such as Pope Francis, the UK Parliament, and former President Barack Obama. In addition to the impact that she is making on the political spectrum, Thunberg is also open about her battle with Asperger’s Syndrome. She is inspiring teenagers around the world to not only persevere through adversity, but to passionately thrive.

At the age of 16, how has Greta Thunberg gotten more attention and made more of an impact than any other climate activist? What makes her stand out from more experienced politicians? Her innovation and connectivity through activism are what has made Greta such a social phenomenon. Instead of focusing on structured political regimes, she resonates with the younger generation through movements and protests. Greta Thunberg has somehow found a way to unite young climate activists and political figures, in order to move forward toward social change. While Greta might not fit the stereotype of an entrepreneur, she is innovating and changing the way the world sees climate activism, one Friday at a time.

2 Comments

Categories : Enviornmental, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Recycling, Social Entrepreneur, Social Impact, Sustainable, Uncategorized

4Ocean – Andrew Cooper & Alex Schulze

Posted by Laura Mosley

· Sunday, September 15th, 2019

· 1 Comment

(L to R) Alex Schulze and Andrew Cooper owners of 4Ocean, a company that actively removes trash from the ocean. Photo by Tim Stepien.

I’m sure we’ve all seen ads from time to time about 4Ocean – the company that sells bracelets and puts money towards cleaning up our oceans. In the last few months, I’ve seen an increase in these ads before Youtube videos and I’ve wondered who it is that’s behind this endeavor.

As it turns out, there are two people: Andrew Cooper and Alex Schulze. Recently, these two made it to the 2019 edition of the Forbes 30 Under 30 for their efforts. So how did it all start?

In 2015, Cooper and Schulze went on a surfing trip to Bali and were appalled by the amount of plastic they found in the ocean. As we are learning in class, they found trouble and sought to fix it. By 2017, they were selling the bracelets we all know of today as a way to fund the cleanup effort. According to the organization, the bracelets are made of recycled materials and each represents a pound of trash that will be removed. 4Ocean has since created more products to help fund the effort, but the bracelets remain the most widely known. According to an article in PR Newswire, “By creating jobs, utilizing the latest technology and raising awareness about the impact of trash in the ocean, the company is building the first economy for ocean plastic and creating a cleaner, more sustainable future for the ocean.”

Cooper and Schulze are excellent examples of entrepreneurs who used their passion to change how the world sees a problem. They are both surfers, fishermen, and divers. They spend much of their time around the water and were perfectly suited to see and frame the problem of plastic in the ocean in a way that many people around the world have not known. They did not just say that there was a problem, but they showed pictures and gave people a simple way that they could help – all with the easy purchase of a recycled bracelet. Every time a customer would look at the bracelet, they would be reminded of the ongoing problem and the fight to clean the world’s oceans. By presenting the problem in a way that gave people something easy to do and inspiring them with the need, they made the daunting task of cleaning up the oceans seem very possible and even exciting.

Sources:

https://4ocean.com/about/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/4ocean-co-founders-andrew-cooper-and-alex-schulze-named-forbes-30-under-30-social-entrepreneurs-300750165.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/07/4oceans-cleaned-up-1-million-pounds-of-ocean-garbage.html

1 Comment

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Business, Clean water, Enviornmental, Great Ideas, Millennial Entrepreneurs, Ocean, Outdoors, Recycling

Benjamin Stern and Nohbo

Posted by SpicherJM18

· Saturday, November 24th, 2018

· 2 Comments

Benjamin Stern was only 17 years old when he secured an investment from Mark Cuban on Shark Tank for his company Nohbo. Benjamin started his entrepreneurship journey all the way back in middle school, where he started his first venture. Stern would buy his own coffee beans at a wholesale price, from a roaster in Seattle, and would go around his neighborhood selling his own coffee. Part of the sales would go to the Wounded Warriors Project. After this he wanted to create an idea that would go beyond his own neighborhood.

Image result for Benjamin Stern and Nohbo

Using his company Nohbo, Benjamin Stern is trying to eliminate the need for plastic bottles in personal car products. Such as shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and shaving cream. His product is a single use, water-soluble, apparatus that dissolves 100 percent. It is either a ball of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, or shaving cream that you just rub on your hands under water and lather up. Moving forward Benjamin is trying to work with top hotel distributors to create a custom line for them. With an increasing consumer demand on the emphasis of cleaner, greener, and healthier products, I have no doubt that this product is bound to really change up the health and body care industry.

Article Link: https://www.newhope.com/business-resources/walk-you-run-interview-benjamin-stern-17-year-old-founder-nohbo

2 Comments

Categories : Beauty, Creating, Engineering, Great Ideas, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Recycling, Shark Tank