S04 EP 04: Tom Szaky, TerraCycle

Sustainable Business Fridays: Recycling the Unrecycleable with TerraCycle

Alistair Hall from Bard’s MBA in Sustainability spoke with Tom Szaky, Founder and CEO of TerraCycle, to dig into this question, ‘why does garbage really exist?’

What is garbage? It’s a question that Szaky has been working to solve. Szaky and Terracycle start from the premise that everything can be recycled. Glass, metal, plastic are all recycled because there’s a straightforward business case to do so, but how about cigarette butts, paint, diapers, and more?

Terracycle’s imaginative approach and drive has taken them to 20 different countries, three seasons of a hit reality TV show, “Human Resources,” and the title of “The Coolest Little Start Up in America” by Inc. Magazine (to name just one of their many accolades).

The following Q&A is an edited excerpt from a Sustainable Business Fridays (SBF) podcast. SBF brings together students in Bard’s MBA in Sustainability with leaders in business, sustainability and social entrepreneurship. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or Podbean.