Ridwell

Ridwell started as a father-and-son project called Owen's List, founded by Ryan Metzger and his then six-year-old son Owen in 2018. Frustrated by the difficulty of recycling everyday items that don't fit into traditional curbside programs - like batteries, light bulbs, old clothes, and Styrofoam - Ryan began searching for solutions and soon realized they could multiply their efforts by helping neighbors too. Together with Owen, they started picking up items from their Seattle community, sharing stories and photos about where each item ended up. What began as a family project quickly grew into a movement, with more than 4,000 Seattle households joining in. As demand grew, Ryan partnered with Aliya Marder, David, and Justin to officially launch Ridwell. Today, Ridwell is a team of more than 250 people working to make recycling and reuse more accessible, transparent, and impactful. The company operates across multiple U.S. cities including Seattle, Portland, Denver, Los Angeles, Bay Area, Atlanta, Austin, and Minneapolis, offering both bi-weekly pickup services and nationwide mail-in options for hard-to-recycle materials.