Sep 23, 2008

Kept Out of Landfills and Reborn as a BagBy Ken BelsonNYTimes.com

Spend even a few minutes with Tom Szaky and he is bound to say, “The thing about garbage is …”

That’s because TerraCycle, the company he co-founded in 2001 and has run since, is aiming to make billions by collecting used plastic bags, juice pouches, cookie wrappers and other items that cannot be recycled and fusing them into everyday items like tote bags, pencil cases and messenger bags to be sold at some of the country’s biggest retailers.

Mr. Szaky, whose first product was an organic fertilizer jokingly called Worm Poop, said the opportunity to “upcycle” trash, or turn it into new products, was vast because most of the items Americans use are not recycled. Some of the country’s largest manufacturers and retailers are rushing to form partnerships with TerraCycle because reducing waste can help bolster their image.

“The entire economy is built on waste, and no one captures it,” said Mr. Szaky, who expects TerraCycle’s sales to nearly triple to $8 million this year. “It’s like sitting in California during the Gold Rush. I’m wondering how long it will last.”

The rush could last many years, given how many companies are talking with Mr. Szaky, 26, a Canadian who left Princeton in his sophomore year to focus on the company. Mr. Szaky said TerraCycle collected waste and surplus products from companies including Bear Naked, the granola company; Clif Bar; Coca-Cola; Honest Tea; Kraft Foods; and Stonyfield Farm, the yogurt company. It then designs and creates goods made from these products and sells them at Home Depot, OfficeMax, Target, Walgreens, Wal-Mart and other retailers. Mr. Szaky said TerraCycle was also negotiating with General Mills, Procter & Gamble and Sara Lee, as well as Disney and Warner Brothers.

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