RidwellThe Seattle startup that collects plastic and other hard-to-recycle items from consumers continues to grow its footprint across the US.
The company recently expanded beyond home pickup bins where it started with a new Mail-in service which has already attracted nearly 20,000 users in recent months
It is also pushing into further investment. A new SEC filing reveals that the company raised $15 million in new cash. Ridwell CEO Ryan Metzer declined to comment on the filing.
Metzger, a former director at Madrona and Zulily, told GeekWire that the mail-in service has grown “significantly,” helping Ridwell reach 130,000 customers in all 50 states.
Customers can recycle multi-layer plastics such as bags for chips or candy wrappers, as well as plastic film, including grocery bags and bubble wrap, packed into a bag provided by Ridwell. They schedule a home pickup through Ridwell’s integration with the US Postal Service and then track their trash’s recycling journey online.
Recycling startup Ridwell
There is no monthly subscription like Ridwell Bin Pickup. Customers pay $30 to start and about $9 for each return, though often they need the service.
Metzger is promoting the new offering at about 200 community meetups across the country. “It’s a great way to get the word out and really drive adoption among the most passionate people,” he said.
Ridwell’s traditional pickup service still operates in eight metro areas in seven states: Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota and Texas. Customers pay $20 for the monthly service where plastics and other add-ons such as Styrofoam or batteries are collected by Ridwell drivers.
Metzger said that with adoption in a certain area, that area can be turned into a pickup area, with a Readwell facility, drivers and other staff. The new funding will facilitate that growth. All materials from pickup and mail-in are shipped to 10 Readwell-operated processing facilities across the country.
Ridwell, which employs about 250 people, sorts, bales and ships materials such as multi-layer plastic to various partners, who give the material a second life. For example, Trex manufactures composite decking materials; HydrobloxMakes water drainage material; AndBye FusionProduces construction-grade building blocks.
Metzger called the mail-in service’s integration with the Postal Service a unique user experience. Through the Ridwell website, customers can schedule a pickup for a carrier who will grab a bag of recyclables during a typical mail drop.
Because the practice of recycling and whether it actually works or makes a difference environmentally The question has been asked In recent years, Metzger says it’s been important to show customers the journey of their content.
We try to take some of what e-commerce has done for decades and bring it in reverse,” he says of Ridwell’s package tracking. “So when you give us stuff, you see where it goes, it actually made it there, and what it turns out to be.”
Metzger launched Ridwell in 2018 after she and her then-7-year-old son tried to get rid of a dead battery and realized it wasn’t that simple.
During his talks with community members from Port Townsend, Wash., to Concord, Mass. — Metzger likes to demonstrate the physical results of recycling by displaying a section of Trex, or Hydroblox.
“I can say, ‘Here’s all this stuff you can put in that bag, and then what it turns out to be,'” Metzer said. There’s a trust barrier that we’re overcoming, so it’s important to meet people and see them face-to-face and show them what happens.
Previously:
- Ridwell began collecting harder types of plastic as the recycling startup grew to seven states
- Behind the scenes on recycling at Ridwell: Seattle startups grow as fast as plastic piles and more
https://www.geekwire.com/2025/recycling-startup-ridwell-hits-130000-customers-as-new-mail-in-service-takes-off-with-help-from-usps/