Outsmart Waste : The Modern Idea of Garbage and How to Think Our Way Out of It

The unique nature of garbage -- Where the modern idea of garbage originated -- The role of the individual purchase -- Our primary global solution to waste : bury it -- The energy inherent in our waste -- The hierarchy of waste -- The art of upcycling -- The science of recycling -- The critical element of separation -- The economics of outsmarting waste -- Waste is over (if you want it).;"Garbage doesn't exist in nature--the output of one organism is the useful input of another. So why does garbage exist in the human system? Why did it only become a problem the past century? And most importantly, how can we eliminate it--outsmart the very idea of garbage? Eco-entrepreneur Tom Szaky says that to outsmart waste first we have to understand it, then change how we create it, and finally rethink what we do with it. He traces the roots of our current garbage crisis to 20th century technological advances that resulted in historic changes in consuming habits--both the amount of garbage created and its longevity increased dramatically. Szaky argues we can turn this around by changing what we buy, when we buy, why we buy, and what we do with what we've bought. And through innovative recycling and creative "upcycling" (creating new products from discarded objects) we can stop seeing garbage as useless waste and start seeing it as useful waste--a tremendous volume of resources that are simply misunderstood. After reading this mind-expanding book you will never think of garbage the same way again"-- The power of upcycling both small-scale and large: “Szaky knows of what he speaks when it comes to trash . . . useful strategies that are available to anyone.” —Publishers Weekly Ever-expanding landfills, ocean gyres filled with floating plastic mush, endangered wildlife. Our garbage has become a massive and exponentially growing problem in modern society. Eco-entrepreneur and founder of TerraCycle Tom Szaky explores why this crisis exists and explains how can we solve it by eliminating the very idea of garbage. To outsmart waste, he says, we first have to understand it, then change how we create it, and finally rethink what we do with it. By mimicking nature and focusing on the value inherent in our by-products, we can transform the waste we can’t avoid creating from useless trash to a useful resource. Szaky demonstrates that there is value in every kind of garbage, from used chewing gum to juice pouches to cigarette butts. After reading this mind-expanding book, you will never think about garbage the same way again. “The waste industry is ripe for massive innovation and change. It takes creative minds and people with the courage to knock down doors and go around walls to be the spark. Tom is that.” —Ron Gonen, New York City Deputy Commissioner of Sanitation, Recycling, and Sustainability and cofounder and former CEO, RecycleBank "Garbage doesn't exist in nature--the output of one organism is the useful input of another. So why does garbage exist in the human system? Why did it only become a problem the past century? And most importantly, how can we eliminate it--outsmart the very idea of garbage? Eco-entrepreneur Tom Szaky says that to outsmart waste first we have to understand it, then change how we create it, and finally rethink what we do with it. He traces the roots of our current garbage crisis to 20th century technological advances that resulted in historic changes in consuming habits--both the amount of garbage created and its longevity increased dramatically. Szaky argues we can turn this around by changing what we buy, when we buy, why we buy, and what we do with what we've bought. And through innovative recycling and creative "upcycling" (creating new products from discarded objects) we can stop seeing garbage as useless waste and start seeing it as useful waste--a tremendous volume of resources that are simply misunderstood. After reading this mind-expanding book you will never think of garbage the same way again"-- Provided by publisher Ever-expanding landfills, ocean gyres filled with floating plastic mush, endangered wildlife. Our garbage has become a massive and exponentially growing problem in modern society. Eco-entrepreneur Tom Szaky explores why this crisis exists and explains how can we solve it by eliminating the very idea of garbage. To outsmart waste, he says, we first have to understand it, then change how we create it, and finally rethink what we do with it.

By mimicking nature and focusing on the value inherent in our by-products, we can transform the waste we can't avoid creating from useless trash to a useful resource. Szaky demonstrates that there is value in every kind of garbage, from used chewing gum to juice pouches to cigarette butts. After reading this mind-expanding book, you will never think about garbage the same way again.