Become a Student Leader
Organize a collection to send less to landfills and earn an Environmental Leadership Certificate!
Deadline to register is December 15
We’re looking for teens who want to reduce landfill waste in their community by organizing a neighborhood collection effort using tools and skills offered through Ridwell’s free Student Leadership Program.
Your goal:
Encourage 15-20 neighbors to participate in your collection.
Ridwell Student Leaders will:
Learn about solutions to plastic pollution, including a live session where you’ll understand the challenges of our current recycling model
See tangible results of the materials you rescue from the landfill
Get tools, support and mentorship from sustainability professionals to make your collection easy and achievable
Earn a certificate that highlights your impact, and boosts your resume!
Tour the Ridwell warehouse and receive a Ridwell tee at the time you drop off your collections
How it works
Choose what you want to collect and when
Choose one item from a list of options for your collection, and the date you’ll pick it up from your neighbors
Share your collection page with neighbors to sign up
We’ll give you simple, step-by-step instructions for how you can spread the word!
Collect from your neighbors doorsteps and tour our warehouse!
We’ll give you the best route to make the collection speedy. Then, drop off your collection and tour the Ridwell warehouse
Collected items might include..
Plastic film
Multilayer plastic
Plastic bottle caps
Corks
Holiday lights
Essential hygiene items
Jewelry
Metal bottle caps
Purses, handbags, belts and wallets
"Working with Ridwell, I helped my community keep over 1,200 pounds from landfills! I was able to meet the Ridwell team and see behind the scenes of how their operations worked. It was a great way to get involved and make a difference. If you have a passion for sustainability, I highly recommend you register!"
- Alex, Ridwell Student Leader, now attending University of Pennsylvania
Ready to be a Ridwell Student Leader?
FAQs
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We’re looking for high school students who want to learn about recycling and help people send less to landfills. You must live in Seattle, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles, in an area with Ridwell service. See the list of locations here: blog.ridwell.com/blog/ridwell-service-areas
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Yes! This program is free to students and free to your neighbors who’d like to participate in your collection.
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Ridwell partners with vetted organizations to ensure that materials are properly recycled or reused. Here’s what these materials will be turned into:
Plastic film ♻️ ➡ Recycled planks for decks
Multilayer plastic ♻️ ➡ Drainage materials
Plastic bottle caps ♻️ ➡ Resin to make recycled plastic products
Corks ♻️ ➡ Coasters, trays, bulletin boards
Holiday lights ♻️ ➡ Recycled alongside e-waste to recover as many materials as possible for reuse
Essential hygiene items ♻️ ➡ Reused
Jewelry ♻️ ➡ Upcycled into new jewelry
Metal bottle caps ♻️ ➡ Recycled metal products
Purses, handbags, belts and wallets ♻️ ➡ Reused
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Student Leaders will attend a training session (or watch a recording) and review educational materials. On their own time, they will share their personal landing pages and encourage their neighbors to participate in their collection! Student Leaders will also do the collection from the neighbors themselves, so should be able to drive, or have a parent/friend who will be able to help them complete the collection.
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Applications are due by December 15 and training will be provided on an ongoing basis. Collections will take place before the end of January. We will aim to have warehouse tours scheduled at the end of January as well.
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While unpaid, the Student Leadership program offers an opportunity to learn about recycling and the environment directly from the leaders of a sustainability startup whose community has saved 20+ million pounds of waste from landfills. Students who do a collection in their neighborhood will receive an Environmental Leadership Certificate from our CEO, Ryan.