Ryan's Recycling: ONE MILLION Cans Recycled!

Sambazon operates under a business model called the triple-bottom-line, wheresuccess is not only measured economically, but also socially and environmentally. From the beginning, we have been as much about giving back to the community of farmers and protecting the biodiversity of the Amazon as we are providing delicious, nutritious Açaí to the wider world. Under our Fair Trade Certification, we’ve worked to protect hundreds of thousands of acres of the Amazon rainforest, donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to Fair Trade projects and have a dedicated team and invested resources to test new materials and technologies that can be composted to name a few initiatives. So, when Sambazon founders Ryan and Jeremy Black learned about young Ryan Hickman and his mission to clean up the planet, they knew they wanted Sambazon to help.

What was just a trip to the local recycling center for dad, was much more than that for, at the time, three-year-old Ryan Hickman. In 2012, Ryan started Ryan’s Recycling Company by simply providing empty plastic bags to his neighbors, friends and family in hopes that they would save their cans and bottles for him to recycle. Now, Ryan has customers all over Orange County, CA where his main goal is to keep these recyclables from reaching the ocean and harming the environment. He has recycled 987,000 cans and bottles and has donated almost $12,000 to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. His next goal? Reach 1,000,000 cans recycled!

That’s where Sambazon comes in. We always try to reduce packaging waste as much as possible, but when we do end up with leftover inventory that can’t be used, we recycle what we can! While looking for a place to recycle scrap aluminum from some of our extra pre-production Amazon Energy cans, we learned about Ryan and Ryan’s Recycling Company. We reached out and became mutually excited to work with each other to recycle the equivalent of 93,000 Amazon Energy cans...ultimately helping Ryan reach and surpass his goal of 1,000,000 cans recycled!

Proceeds from the recycling goes to support the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. Ryan’s efforts have been internationally recognized with accolades such as CNN’s Young Wonder Award, MSN’s Top 15 Kids Changing the World List and Good Housekeeping’s 40 Kids Who Changed the World List. Sambazon is excited to be yet another customer of Ryan’s Recycling to help him continue making the world a better place, one can at a time. 

So what’s next? You can help support causes like this by voting with your dollar. As a conscious consumer, you have the power to look beyond the label and know more about the businesses you support and where your money goes. We encourage you to continue purchasing from triple-bottom-line, sustainable businesses like Sambazon. Because together, we can make a positive impact on our planet.