Tom Szaky's ambitions to turn one of America's fastest-growing private companies into a multi-billion dollar global empire didn't have glamorous beginnings.
Szaky's Trenton-based TerraCycle got off the ground eight years ago out of a Princeton University student business plan contest. Szaky's idea was to establish a company that would transform biodegradable waste into high-yield fertilizer made from worm poop.
Szaky, 28, drew his inspiration for the fertilizer plan from the success he and some of his Canadian high school buddies had in growing robust plants in fertilizer made from worm poop. He decided to drop out of Princeton during his sophomore year to give his full attention to the waste-into-fertilizer business he dubbed TerraCycle.
Today, the company that Szaky founded in 2002 with a $20,000 machine for feeding organic waste to millions of little worms that would turn that waste into fertilizer has moved well beyond being merely a fertilizer-specialty manufacturer.
It is a high-profile player in a niche corner of the recycling market known as "upcycling," in which used materials such as aluminum drink pouches, plastic soda bottles and plastic food wrappers are collected and transformed for use in new products without being broken down into their raw material components.
As many great companies do, this one started in a dorm room. Tom Szaky, now at the ripe old age of 27, is the founder and CEO of TerraCycle and was named one of the fastest growing private companies by Inc. magazine in 2009.
The idea of upcycling wasn't trendy at the time, and the first few years at Terracycle were rocky. Hurdles involved near bankruptcy and the hard choice of turning down a $1 million grant because the investor's principles were not in line with Szaky's idea of a truly sustainable company — now that's a man with faith in his idea!
The words “waste” and “garbage” have always had such negative connotations. “You’re a waste of space.” Schoolyard taunts about smelling like a garbage picker. The phrase “garbage in, garbage out,” which refers to something made with low quality materials that will also yield a low quality final product.
Tom Szaky, the 28 year old CEO of Terracycle, sees waste differently. While he has brought garbage into his company, it seems that the outputs have been nothing short of valuable. Szaky started Terracycle as a 19 year old Princeton student. His idea? Taking food waste from Princeton’s cafeterias, having worms digest it, and producing fertilizer on the other end. The products were contained in old soda bottles. After nearly going broke, he was helped out by an investor, which led to the company getting orders into two major retailers.
