Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador — Ryan Easton of Mount Pearl, Newfoundland, is bucking the trends of his age by running a scrapyard in one of the province’s busiest industrial parks.
The 15-year-old specifically scraps cars, recycles appliances, metal and e-waste, and even rents dumpster services. He then sells the scrap to bulk buyers.
Originally reported by CBC News, Easton first opened his business, Ryan’s Recycling, in 2011 in his parent’s backyard, a business that, according to CBC News, has “since exploded into an operation that befits its current location in a 10,000-square-foot storage yard, with a 700-square-foot scrapping facility, in the middle of Donovan’s Industrial Park.”
The teen told the news outlet that he first picked up the necessary industry skills from watching Youtube tutorials.
“People are posting videos about how to do stuff, and I kept learning more, and more and more,” Easton told CBC News.
Easton’s mother further reported that between August and the end of last year, Ryan “processed about 300,000 pounds in scrap steel.”
In the future, the teen hopes to continue building his business as well as knowledge of the recycling industry. But first, he needs to learn how to drive and to pass his high school exams.
“I’d like to keep growing (the business) and get a couple of locations out of town because there’s not recycling out there, especially for electronics,” Easton concluded.
