2010 SI Fellow Brooke Betts Farrell

Kiley Lambert ( Bio  /   Posts )  |  Friday, October 22, 2010 UTC

“The smell of money.”

That’s how 2010 Social Innovation Fellow Brooke Betts Farrell described the stench of this country’s garbage piles. The amount of resources – money, energy, land, water — that go into dealing with the things we throw away is staggering. Her idea is simple – she wants her company RecycleMatch to be the eBay of trash. Take polyester scraps from the clothing manufacturer and sell them as seat stuffing to the chair manufacturer; make bags out of billboards. Match those who have waste with those who need it.

Brook Betts Farrell

“Recycling in this country is inefficient. Only about 30% of what we throw away is recyclable,” Farrell said. “That’s not good enough. I want companies to see their waste as a resource.”

(Photo credit: Kris Krüg)

Tags:

Rate this post:

  • Meh.
  • Love it!
  • Community Rating: 8
Click and drag above to vote.