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Ridwell\u2019s father-son origin story is as compelling as it is adorable. Ryan Metzger, and his then six year-old son Owen, turned a weekend project in 2018 to find a home for used batteries into a fast-growing business with over 75,000 customers who pay around $15\/month for the service. Ridwell<\/a> has recycled or repurposed over 11 million pounds of hard-to-recycle items since then. Their initial efforts were well meaning, but it was Ryan Metzger\u2019s discovery that the recycling industry was in turmoil that was a catalyst for launching a business. Metzger and his co-founders met the moment.<\/p>\n Ryan Metzger and son Owen create Owen’s list in 2018 \u2014 a service to gather hard-to-recycle items.<\/p>\n <\/fbs-accordion>Ridwell<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Certain startup stories lend themselves to a narrative built around the question, \u201cwhy now?\u201d Why hasn\u2019t this solution been created yet? What factors align to make this the perfect time to introduce this service? Every startup story needs to be logical. It must make sense. A good \u201cwhy now\u201d can be the foundation for your story logic. Here\u2019s how Ridwell\u2019s story started, why it was the perfect time to set up the business and how it\u2019s going today.<\/p>\n \u201cHow It Started\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Ryan and his wife, Erin, grew up on the West Coast where recycling was an important family value. When they had their own home, they tried to throw out as little as possible. The Metzgers had a place in their basement where they gathered batteries, plastic bags, old clothes, and Styrofoam, because they hated the idea of sending the items out to sea or into landfills. They just didn\u2019t know what to do with the stuff or lacked the time to get rid of it all.<\/p>\n One weekend in 2018, Ryan started to search for a place to recycle the old batteries. Once he found a destination, Ryan and Owen thought they\u2019d check in with some neighbors to see if they had any used batteries of their own. Some neighbors were interested so Owen went door-to-door collecting batteries (Ryan said the idea was inspired by an old-fashioned paper route, but in reverse). After a while, Ryan and Owen started collecting other items. Ryan built a website called \u201cOwen\u2019s List\u201d to help organize the pick-ups and before long 4500 Seattle neighbors were on the site.<\/p>\n Ryan realized this had the makings of a business. His environmentally-conscious Seattle neighbors needed to find an easy way to dispose of hard-to-recycle items; but it was the timing that heightened the opportunity. China had just announced<\/a> that it would no longer accept the West\u2019s items for recycling. Based on this news, journalists and citizens alike started to wonder whether the recycling they brought to the curb was actually being recycled or rather just ending up in landfills. There was an immense lack of trust in the system. It was critical for Ryan and Owen to be clear on explaining where everything went. They would list each of their partners and would show photos of items being dropped off. This is something that Ridwell has continued to this day.<\/p>\n Owen poses for a photo dropping off Styrofoam. This photo was posted on social media with the … [+]<\/span>