It began with worm poop. In 2001, while enrolled as a freshman at Princeton University, Tom Szaky learned that friends were feeding kitchen scraps to worms and using the resulting fertilizer to feed their plants. That discovery led him to found a company called TerraCycle, to sell worm poop-based fertilizer packaged in used soda bottles.   Since then, TerraCycle has developed into a recycling juggernaut. It has done so by teaming with brands, retailers, and municipalities to run programs aimed at gathering post-consumer, difficult-to-recycle waste, such as juice pouches and deodorant containers. Tapping a small army of consumer volunteer collectors, the company turns that garbage into completely new products, either by reusing the items' raw material components or repurposing the waste in its current form. In 2019, the company launched Loop, a circular shopping system through which brands deliver products to consumers in reusable packaging.   "Our purpose is to eliminate the idea of waste," says Michael Waas, global VP of brand partnerships at the Trenton, N.J.-based company.   To date, more than 202 million people in 21 countries have helped to collect and recycle waste through TerraCycle's 75-plus recycling programs in the U.S. and 250 globally. Moreover, the company has raised more than $44 million for charity, thanks to a system by which consumers earn points for every shipment of waste they send and then redeem those points in the form of a donation to the cause of their choice.   Szaky spent the first few years in business struggling to stay afloat; he also dropped out of college. Eventually, he got his product on the shelves of Walmart and The Home Depot.   Then, in 2007, Szaky had an epiphany: If he could make fertilizer out of waste, then maybe he could make anything out of waste. Further, if he could collect the stuff efficiently and find a new purpose and value for it, he could eliminate the very concept of waste. To do that, Waas says, the company needed a collection program that was "easy for consumers to access and use wherever they happen to be located."   Building on the so-called "Bottle Brigade," a volunteer system created to gather used soda bottles for the company's fertilizer products, Szaky developed a unique collection method that involves enlisting schools, individual consumers, and other organizations to collect vast amounts of specific items — from used chewing gum and cigarette butts to shampoo bottles and flip flops. The programs are funded by brands looking for ways to reduce their waste and win consumer loyalty.   All waste is delivered to TerraCycle, which works with processors to turn it into a raw material that manufacturers can use in new products. The company also upcycles some garbage, like plastic bags, and transforms it into tote bags and other items.   Today, TerraCycle provides recycling solutions for more than 300 waste streams. Its brand partners include a roster of consumer packaged goods heavyweights and retailers, recycling product packaging for items like Colgate toothpaste and Capri Sun beverages. In 2017, for example, Procter & Gamble's Head & Shoulders shampoo brand and TerraCycle launched a program to collect plastic garbage on beaches globally and turn the garbage into shampoo and dish soap bottles. Since then, Head & Shoulders has produced more than one million bottles made with recycled beach plastic in more than 10 countries.   Now, Szaky is moving the company in a new direction with the introduction of Loop. Consumers pay a refundable deposit when purchasing reusable packaged goods; the containers are then picked up by a delivery service, cleaned, refilled, and shipped out again. Brands pick up part of the tab by designing and making the new packaging themselves. More than 300 items are available, from Tide detergent to Häagen-Dazs ice cream.   TerraCycle has experienced considerable growth, with annual revenues of around $32 million and a workforce of 350 employees. In 2018, the company acquired Air Cycle, a recycler of fluorescent light bulbs, among other items.   Waas shares additional insights on the company with the ANA Center for Brand Purpose.