"There is no such thing as garbage in nature," said Szaky, "yet we're producing five billion tons worldwide annually. We've identified over 300 categories of household waste - separation is critical to maximizing value. Every type of waste stream is recyclable - juice bag wrappers, cigarette butts, diapers, whatever. There are three major categories: flexible waste, rigid packaging and complex waste comprising more than one substance - just look at your toothbrush or pen, for example." Groundbreaking packaging law Israel still lags behind Europe and North America in terms of waste management, with the vast majority ending up in landfills. However, last year, the Knesset passed a revolutionary package recycling bill, which will oblige package manufacturers to send packaging waste for recycling. The target recycling rate is 60 percent within four years. Solid waste expert Gilad Ostrovsky of the Israel Union of Environmental Defense (Adam, Teva V'Din) non-profit spoke of the importance of the packaging law to Israel's physical future. "This legislation is a great step forward," he said. "From July 1, it will be possible to recycle glass and metal in Israel. Responsibility for recycling will fall on the manufacturers and importers, who will form corporations for that purpose. They also have to report exactly what their packaging consists of, and the Environmental Protection Ministry will set recycling quotas accordingly. Higher charges to the corporations to recycle plastic and mixed packaging will act as an incentive to use paper and glass packaging instead. Collecting and transporting packages is the most expensive aspect of recycling, so there'll be more bins and recycling centers." During an afternoon question-and-answer session, Szaky applauded Israel for passing the law. "Israel can prove to be the groundbreaker in the Middle East," he predicted. Szaky later had fruitful meetings with Minister of Environmental Protection Gilad Erdan and several major Israeli companies, according to Israeli Branch Manager Moran Twena. Thinking globally, acting locally "Sustainability is a way of life - there are no shortcuts," said Ostrovsky. "Reusing products is a dominant component of this approach. Changing our values is a tremendous challenge, as it necessitates a dramatic reduction of consumption and massive reuse. The focus must be on the household," he said. Szaky had some advice for the small-scale entrepreneurs: "The fundamental reason Terracycle has succeeded is that we've worked with multinationals - they are far more aggressive and do things at a far greater scale." Scale is crucial to mass recycling operations, he noted. "Israel's small population makes it a challenge. We store the collected materials in warehouses, until we reach critical mass. What takes a week in Brazil could take six months in Israel." Pallada came away from the conference full of inspiration. "I was very excited by what I heard - just realizing that it is feasible. There will soon be many more businesses like mine. There's plenty of scope for small home-based businesses, but not enough opportunities yet. But this has begun to change."