If you're like us and want to live less cluttered (and more green) in 2023, you're probably emptying junk drawers and cleaning out closets — and wondering what to do with your unwanted items. Before heading to the trash can with old t-shirts or burnt-out holiday lights, take the sustainable approach: reuse or recycle what you're tossing with Ridwell.

Seattle-grown company Ridwell specializes in keeping materials out of landfills by picking up hard-to-recycle items in neighborhoods throughout Portland. Read: They come to you, so doing the sustainable thing is easy.

Ridwell started as a father-son project when CEO, Ryan Metzger, and his son, Owen tried to find a way to recycle their batteries in Seattle. After realizing how complicated it was, they made it a weekend project to pick up their neighbors' batteries along with other hard-to-recycle items. This small project became a recycling carpool that was so popular, it spread across the country.

And the good work is paying off: Since launching in 2018, Ridwell has kept 10+ million pounds of materials out of landfills.

How it works:

Throughout the week, sort items by core categories, like light bulbs, clothes, and plastic wrap, and put them into the nifty cloth bags Ridwell provides. Once a bag is full, drop it in the Ridwell bin by your front door.
Every two weeks, Ridwell picks whatever you’ve set out and gets your stuff to partners that can reuse or recycle it.
In addition to the core categories, Ridwell also picks up a rotating featured category to help members declutter and reduce waste in new ways. Past featured categories have included prescription pill bottles, corks, holiday lights, books, multi-layer plastic food packaging, and more.
Ridwell also offers add-on pickups like Styrofoam and plastic clamshell containers in many areas.
Bulky items that don't fit in the bin can also be picked up for an additional fee.
Bonus: It's affordable. The service is $16 per month for three months, $14 per month for six months, and $12 per month for 12 months.

It's that simple.

Fun fact: Ridwell offers one-of-a-kind transparency to show members where their stuff actually goes. For example, plastic film gets sent to Trex, an innovative company that turns plastic into high-performance decking for homes.

See what Ridwell picks up in your neighborhood.*