Recycling the Unrecyclable with Tom Szaky of TerraCycle

Can we actually recycle cigarette butts, dirty nappies, and coffee pods? Tom Szaky, founder of TerraCycle and the reuse platform Loop, joins Grant Gibson to reveal how 'Material Intelligence' can turn global rubbish into a viable business. In this episode, we dive into the economics of waste and the design of a circular future. We discuss: The ‘Milkman’ Model : How Loop is bringing back convenient reuse. Dirty Nappies & Chewing Gum : The tech behind recycling the ‘unrecyclable’. The Problem with Sandpaper : Why some materials remain a design flaw. Business of Rubbish : From a ‘worm poop’ startup to a global powerhouse. Politics & Sustainability : Building a green business in a shifting climate. Tom also reflects on his journey as a refugee, dropping out of Princeton, and why his office is permanently filled with trash. Explore more : Visit materialmatters.design for more on our fairs and conferences, and sign up to our newsletter for regular updates and insights on material intelligence. Support the show

You can listen to Recycling the Unrecyclable with Tom Szaky of TerraCycle online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Recycling the Unrecyclable with Tom Szaky of TerraCycle is an episode from Material Matters with Grant Gibson by Delizia Media.

This episode is 58:16 long.

This episode was published on Apr 7, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Material Matters with Grant Gibson when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.