# Making garbage useful with Tom Szaky of TerraCycle

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2023-08-17
- Length: 43m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-17-making-garbage-useful-with-tom-szaky-of-terracycle

## Summary

Tom Szaky, co-founder and CEO of TerraCycle, recounts his journey from a Princeton dorm room to building a multimillion-dollar recycling enterprise. He details the early pivot from selling worm poop fertilizer in reused soda bottles to solving the broader waste crisis by partnering with brands like Stonyfield and Clif Bar to collect non-recyclable packaging. Szaky explains the economics of voluntary funding for waste management and introduces Loop, TerraCycle’s reusable packaging initiative, which aims to make traditional recycling obsolete by enabling infinite reuse of containers from brands like Tide and Häagen-Dazs.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-17-making-garbage-useful-with-tom-szaky-of-terracycle#t=0) Introduction: Tom Szaky and TerraCycle
- [1:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-17-making-garbage-useful-with-tom-szaky-of-terracycle#t=76) The Dorm Room Fertilizer Idea and Worm Composting
- [4:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-17-making-garbage-useful-with-tom-szaky-of-terracycle#t=264) Securing First Funding and Packaging in Reused Soda Bottles
- [10:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-17-making-garbage-useful-with-tom-szaky-of-terracycle#t=644) Breaking into Walmart and Fulfilling the First Order
- [17:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-17-making-garbage-useful-with-tom-szaky-of-terracycle#t=1038) Pivoting from Fertilizer to General Waste Recycling
- [21:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-17-making-garbage-useful-with-tom-szaky-of-terracycle#t=1265) Partnering with Brands: Stonyfield, Clif Bar, and Honest Tea
- [27:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-17-making-garbage-useful-with-tom-szaky-of-terracycle#t=1653) The Economics of Waste and Voluntary Responsibility
- [30:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-17-making-garbage-useful-with-tom-szaky-of-terracycle#t=1832) Loop: The Reusable Packaging Initiative
- [37:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-17-making-garbage-useful-with-tom-szaky-of-terracycle#t=2262) Making the Business Obsolete: The Goal of Zero Waste

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- TerraCycle (company)
- Princeton (other)
- Walmart (company)
- Home Depot (company)
- Stonyfield (company)
- Clif Bar (company)
- Honest Tea (company)
- Loop (product)
- Tide (product)
- Häagen-Dazs (product)
- Nestle (company)
- PNG (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [195 - Women owned Sustainable Packaging conversation with CEO Heather Fritzsche](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2023-05-25-195-women-owned-sustainable-packaging-conversation-with-ceo-heather-fritzsche) (People of Packaging)
- [141 - Kieran White from Return Protocol formerly at Lasso Loop](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2022-07-07-141-kieran-white-from-return-protocol-formerly-at-lasso-loop) (People of Packaging)
- [The Waste Management Industry with Jeff Satwicz, Co-Founder of Bigbelly](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-06-23-the-waste-management-industry-with-jeff-satwicz-co-founder-of-bigbelly) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [103 - Sustainable Shipping Packaging with Saloni Doshi, CEO of Ecoenclose](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2022-02-01-103-sustainable-shipping-packaging-with-saloni-doshi-ceo-of-ecoenclose) (People of Packaging)
- [Intelligent Dumpsters and Sustainable Waste Disposal with Ben Chehebar, VP of Hardware at RoadRunner Recycling, and Jason Gates, Senior VP of Strategy at RoadRunner Recycling](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-03-30-intelligent-dumpsters-and-sustainable-waste-disposal-with-ben-chehebar-vp-of-har) (Hardware to Save a Planet)

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