Toronto-native Tom Szaky (pronounced Zack-ee) has been spinning trash into gold since 2002, when he founded Terracycle with a friend out of his Princeton University dorm room. It started with selling worm food in used pop bottles, but soon transformed into turning waste into backpacks, picture frames, binders, pencil cases and more. All of these products branded with the logos of the same companies that produced the waste to make them. Would you buy a backpack made from stitched together Capri Sun pouches, or a three-ring binder composed of M&M wrappers? This is all stuff that can't be recycled, but with Terracycle's innovative "upcycle" technique Szaky is able to have waste producing companies foot the bill for garbage collection, while partnering with other expert product manufacturers who substitute their normal building materials with Terracycle's scientifically manipulated garbage. To learn how he does it, check out part one of our interview. Read on to get inside Szaky's own entrepreneurial DNA and learn how he turned his most devastating failures into his greatest successes. What made you believe you could actually make quality products out of garbage? You just do it. You just try. You take a leap of faith. You say, "I'm not going to discuss it anymore, I'm not going to theorize over it, I'm not going to do an academic paper on it, I'm going to simply do it. Then what happens is you start doing it and then you start screwing up. In the process of screwing up you realize what you need to do differently to make it successful. That has basically been the guiding principle of Terracycle ever since we began: Just try and then learn from the mistakes. We've had more mistakes than we've had successes, but then you focus and grow the successes and that's how you have a successful business.

It’s hard to imagine that anyone would get excited about sorting trash. But each Friday, the third graders at Newtown Elementary School beg to do just that. In fact, they like it so much that they forgo recess just to sift through used drink pouches, chip bags, and snack wrappers. There is a reason for their enthusiasm. The students are recycling for TerraCycle, a Trenton-based company that accepts certain types of waste to make products like bags, picture frames, toys, trashcans, and more. Best of all, the school gets money in return for the products they send in to recycle. The school began its effort in October, after parent Kathy Skalish learned about the initiative. “I’m a recycling junkie,” Skalish said, adding she worked with the school’s administration to make the program happen. So far, the school has collected more than 8,350 drink pouches, which TerraCycle uses to make tote bags and backpacks. They’ve also collected more than 4,200 snack bags and more than 450 Ziplocs, which they’ve just begun recycling. In return for their efforts, TerraCycle gives them 2 cents an item, or $260 since October. TerraCycle bins are located throughout the hallways and in the cafeteria.

Bic qui fabrique et commercialise notamment des stylos s’est associé avec Terracycle, spécialisé dans le recyclage, pour lancer un programme de collecte et de recyclage d’instruments d’écriture (toutes marques confondues). Le recyclage permettra la fabrication de nouveaux produits d’usage courant co...

Bic et Terracycle lancent un programme de recyclage de stylos Bic qui fabrique et commercialise notamment des stylos s'est associé avec Terracycle, spécialisé dans le recyclage, pour lancer un programme de collecte et de recyclage d'instruments d'écriture (toutes marques confondues).

Bic qui fabrique et commercialise notamment des stylos s'est associé avec Terracycle, spécialisé dans le recyclage, pour lancer un programme de collecte et de recyclage d'instruments d'écriture (toutes marques confondues). Le recyclage permettra la fabrication de nouveaux produits d'usage courant co...

Bic qui fabrique et commercialise notamment des stylos s'est associé avec Terracycle, spécialisé dans le recyclage, pour lancer un programme de collecte et de recyclage d'instruments d'écriture (toutes marques confondues). Le recyclage permettra la fabrication de nouveaux produits d'usage courant comme des pots à crayons, des corbeilles à papier, des arrosoirs...

Le numéro Un mondial du Stylo, BIC, et TerraCycle, entreprise pionnière en matière de collecte et de réutilisation de déchets non recyclables, s’associent pour lancer le premier programme de collecte et de recyclage d’instruments d’écriture usagés en France. Ce geste citoyen permettra aussi la récolte de fonds pour des associations à but non lucratif ou des établissements scolaires, peut on lire dans un communiqué de presse.

Bic et Terracycle lancent un programme de recyclage de stylos : Bic qui fabrique et commercialise notamment des stylos s'est associé avec Terracycle, spécialisé dans le recyclage, pour lancer un programme de collecte et de recyclage d'instruments d'écriture (toutes marques confondues).

Bic et Terracycle lancent un programme de recyclage de stylos Le 30 Mars 2011 à 14 h 24 - Actu-environnement