Ten-year-old Bodhi Rose is collecting unconventional waste around town on his bike.

Waste360 Staff, Staff

February 7, 2018

2 Min Read
Boy in Crozet, Va., Launches “Dude of Hazard” Recycling Service

To help ensure that more waste ends up in the appropriate place and to make a little extra cash after school, 10-year-old Bodhi Rose has started a recycling service known as the “Dude of Hazard” in his hometown of Crozet, Va.

Citizens in the town can leave batteries, cell phones, weed killers and other hazardous items on their porch, along with $5, and Bodhi will swing by on bike and collect the items in his backpack. Once he has enough material, his parents will drive it to the appropriate drop-off location.

So far, Bodhi has bicycled to more than 20 different houses in the neighborhood, and the business has been a success.

The Crozet Gazette has more information:

Jill Rose, a videographer with VCU, said the family has always tried to be aware of reducing waste and recycling. “I had to change one of those LED bulbs,” she said. “After I unscrewed it, I thought ‘what’s next?’ If it was causing me some stress to find a way to dispose of it, I figured others might have the same problem.” She, Bodhi, Bodhi’s sister, Sophia, and husband Tim Rose, an oncology nurse at U.Va., try to reduce waste in other ways, by composting and carrying their own bags to the grocery store.

At first, the business took only items like the used bulbs, cell phones and spent batteries, things they already knew had specific destinations for recycling. But Bodhi and Jill became intrigued with the idea that almost anything could ultimately have another life that would keep it out of the waste stream, if they could only find the right place for it. Copiers, fax machines, old keyboards, cameras, fans and binoculars and many other large and small items were added to their list of acceptable materials. “We’ve spent a lot of time researching where to bring hard-to-recycle items,” she said. Jill posts items accepted on “Nextdoor,” the neighborhood website.

Read the full story here.

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