Outsmart Waste

Book excerpt: The power of upcycling both small-scale and large: “Szaky knows of what he speaks when it comes to trash . . . useful strategies that are available to anyone.” —Publishers Weekly Ever-expanding landfills, ocean gyres filled with floating plastic mush, endangered wildlife. Our garbage has become a massive and exponentially growing problem in modern society. Eco-entrepreneur and founder of TerraCycle Tom Szaky explores why this crisis exists and explains how can we solve it by eliminating the very idea of garbage. To outsmart waste, he says, we first have to understand it, then change how we create it, and finally rethink what we do with it. By mimicking nature and focusing on the value inherent in our by-products, we can transform the waste we can’t avoid creating from useless trash to a useful resource. Szaky demonstrates that there is value in every kind of garbage, from used chewing gum to juice pouches to cigarette butts. After reading this mind-expanding book, you will never think about garbage the same way again. “The waste industry is ripe for massive innovation and change. It takes creative minds and people with the courage to knock down doors and go around walls to be the spark. Tom is that.” —Ron Gonen, New York City Deputy Commissioner of Sanitation, Recycling, and Sustainability and cofounder and former CEO, RecycleBank