This Guy Makes Money Off Your Cigarette Butts and Flip-Flops

In Tom Szaky’s vision of the new economy, nothing is garbage. Not cigarette butts. Not dirty diapers. Not even used tampons.

Szaky, the founder of TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based garbage startup, has built a $24 million business around the belief that everything is recyclable. He’s convinced some of the world’s largest brands and retailers, including Procter & Gamble Co., Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Office Depot Inc., that there’s value in spending to keep garbage out of landfills.