You know the story: there’s a bright college student who drops out of an Ivy League school to embark upon an entrepreneurial journey, founding his own company and building it into a major success along the way. No, we’re not talking about Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates here.

Instead, we’re talking about Tom Szaky, an immigrant whose family fled Hungary after the Chernobyl disaster, eventually sending him to Princeton, where he dropped out to launch his startup called TerraCycle. Their goal, as the company touts, is to make “recycling the unrecyclable not only feasible but desirable and profitable!”

The basic idea is to take trash that no else is going to recycle and find ways to profitably reuse or recycle it.

While Tom founded TerraCycle as a teenager, the company is now partnered on such trash repurposing projects with major brands like Coke, Pepsi, Proctor & Gamble, and more. As a result, TerraCycle now has more than 300 staff and brings in nearly $50 million in annual revenue. Hear their story in this latest episode!

Mentioned in this episode

HBO’s Chernobyl series
Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken
The Future of Packaging by Tom Szaky
Birds using cigarette butts to line their nests to prevent mites
TerraCycle’s Loop program

Ep. 27: Your Trash Is Tom Szaky's Treasure

Business for Good Podcast