The Future of Packaging: From Linear to Circular
About this ebook
Tom Szaky sets out to do the impossible – eliminate all waste. This book paints a future of a “circular economy” that relies on responsible reuse and recycling to propel the world towards eradicating overconsumption and waste.
Only 35 percent of the 240 million metric tons of waste generated in the United States alone gets recycled, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. This extraordinary collection shows how manufacturers can move from a one-way take-make-waste economy that is burying the world in waste to a circular, make-use-recycle economy.
Steered by Tom Szaky, recycling pioneer, eco-capitalist, and founder and CEO of TerraCycle, each chapter is coauthored by an expert in his or her field. From the distinct perspectives of government leaders, consumer packaged goods companies, waste management firms, and more, the book explores current issues of production and consumption, practical steps for improving packaging and reducing waste today, and big ideas and concepts that can be carried forward.
Intended to help every business from a small start-up to a large established consumer product company, this book serves as a source of knowledge and inspiration. The message from these pioneers is not to scale back but to innovate upward. They offer nothing less than a guide to designing ourselves out of waste and into abundance.
About the author
Tom Szaky is the CEO of TerraCycle, an international company he founded during his freshman year at Princeton, whose mission is to recycle the unrecyclable. TerraCycle has won more than 200 awards for social entrepreneurship and sustainable business and was the subject of the documentary series Human Resources on Pivot TV. Szaky blogs for the New York Times, TreeHugger, the Huffington Post, and a number of other major websites. And 15 Industry Leaders in Innovation and Sustainability Attila Turos, Former Lead, Future of Production Initiative, World Economic Forum Christine “Christie” Todd Whitman, President, The Whitman Strategy Group; Former Governor of New Jersey; Former Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency Jean-Marc Boursier, Group Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Finance and Recycling & Recovery (Northern Europe), SUEZ Scott Cassel, Founder and CEO, Product Stewardship Institute Stephen Sikra, Associate Director, Corporate R&D, Procter & Gamble Ron Gonen, Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer, Closed Loop Partners; Cofounder and Former CEO, Recyclebank; Former Deputy Commissioner for Recycling and Sustainability, New York City Department of Sanitation Michael Manna, Founder and Managing Director, Organic Recycling Solutions Chris Daly, Vice President, Sustainability, Europe, PepsiCo Lisa McTigue Pierce, Executive Editor, Packaging Digest Tony Dunnage, Group Director, Manufacturing Sustainability, Unilever KoAnn Skrzyniarz, Founder and CEO, Sustainable Life Media, producers of Sustainable Brands Raphael Bemporad and Liz Schroeter Courtney, BBMG Virginie Helias, Vice President, Global Sustainability, Procter & Gamble Lisa Jennings, Vice President, Global Hair Acceleration, Procter & Gamble
