Gabbage Millionaire

When Tom Szaky sees a discarded juice pouch, he doesn't see garbage; he sees a pencil case. An old vinyl LP cries out for new life as a clock. Candy wrappers? An awesome kite. But these are not the musings of an idealistic tree hugger. For the 28-year-old CEO of Trenton, New Jersey–based TerraCycle, they're a revenue model.
Instead of recycling (shredding, pulping, or otherwise breaking down materials and enabling them to be remanufactured as other products), TerraCycle takes packaging headed for landfills from companies like Kellogg's and Starbucks and resurrects it—more or less whole. Yogurt containers become planters; snack wrappers are transformed into shower curtains. TerraCycle's 85 employees make nearly 200 products, sold at retailers such as Petco, Kmart, Whole Foods Market, and Target.
With their mission—to make products entirely out of garbage—suddenly clear, Szaky knew the time was right to drop out of Princeton.