In just 30 years, the world's annual output of waste will reach an estimated 3.4 billion tons. This global tsunami of waste threatens our environment, our economy, even our relationships. To survive, we must not only contain it but do something with it.


To turn the tide, innovative investors and inventors are building an economy that treats trash as a valued commodity and ever-renewing resource. Trash to Treasure: Exploring What It Takes to Build a Business from Waste follows the journeys of modern day pioneers making waves-and money-from waste, including:

• Patagonia, a global fashion manufacturer with a goal to sell fewer goods to consumers by extending the life of the company's products
• Rust Belt Riders, a startup that diverts food from landfills and transforms it into garden soil which, in turn, feeds more plants to produce more food and fuel a circular economy
• Hungry Harvest, a subscription service that rescues farmers' not-ready-for-Instagram produce-20 million pounds of it so far-and delivers it by the boxful to front doors and food deserts

Shift your perspective on waste and you, too, can turn Trash to Treasure and earn disposable income from the things people throw away.