Ryan Hickman developed a passion for recycling before he was in elementary school; now a ninth-grader at San Juan Hills High, he’s educated thousands of his peers around the globe on why they should care about keeping plastics and other debris out of the ocean.
“The trash ends up in the ocean, and animals are eating it,” the 14-year-old said. “Picking up a piece of trash may save a turtle’s life.”
And, he’s picked up more than a piece. Since 2012, he estimates that he and others who helped him have collected some 2 million bottles and cans from beaches, lakes and rivers.
On Saturday, April 20, Hickman, with a bunch of volunteers who follow him and Project 3R, the nonprofit he created, will start a five-week campaign to remove trash from five beaches along the Southern California coast and from some in Mexico. The effort kicks off at Dockweiler Beach in Playa Del Rey, and will include other teen influencers among the volunteers.
