Rather than bagging groceries, Bowling Green High School senior, Ron Millet, is bagging and delivering recyclables as his way of responding to a community need while making some spending money. “Our trash can was filling up with recyclables,” said Ross, recalling how his unusual business venture got started. “My mom said we needed to get something going to help with this.”
Ross and his mom recognized the trashy problem after Southern Recycling stopped curbside recycling pickups in March, roughly corresponding to the beginning of coronavirus-induced quarantining that further bumped up the household trash volume. “I was hearing people say they hated just throwing stuff away,” said Allison Millet, Ross’ mother. “People still wanted to do it (recycle).”
She soon discovered just how much her neighbors wanted to divert their paper, plastic, cardboard and glass from the trash bin. After Ross did a trial run of just two households to the Southern Recycling drop-off location on North Graham Drive, his mother posted on social media about providing the service for others at $5 per pickup.
Allison Millet, who uses social media to promote her Backyard Bootcamp fitness business, found a host of environmentally conscious neighbors in Briarwood subdivision and nearby areas. “So far I have about 50 clients,” Ross said. “It has blown up more than I thought it would.”