2025 Resource Hot 100 Innovator of the Year

Innovation drives progress in the waste and resources sector. From new recycling technologies that can process materials once considered impossible to handle, to reusable packaging systems operating at commercial scale, the sector continues to develop solutions that make circularity more practical and economically viable. The palette can span technical advances, business model development, and educational initiatives that build the knowledge base needed for systemic change.

This year's Resource Hot 100 Innovator of the Year award, sponsored by Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCoL), recognises the people who are propelling new approaches – whether through developing new technologies, scaling reuse systems, or creating the educational infrastructure that enables wider adoption.

The 2025 winner is Tom Szaky, CEO and founder of TerraCycle, which tackles difficult-to-recycle materials, and the Loop - a reuse platform now operating in 345 stores across France. His work addresses both the symptoms of waste through innovative recycling programmes and its root cause through circular packaging systems.

Our 2025 runner-up Louise Robertson is the founder of The Sustainables Academy, which has become a leading educational platform since launching in 2023. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts with over 35 years of educational leadership experience, Robertson has created a not-for-profit initiative providing completely free sustainability and circular economy resources for learners aged 3-18. Her work bridges academia, industry, and communities – collaborating with partners including Imperial College London, the Department for Education, and the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management – to make circular economy education accessible to schools worldwide.

Kirk Bradley, Head of Corporate Partnerships at Salvation Army Trading Company, the award sponsor, commented: "The Resource Hot 100 is such an important celebration of some of the key contributors in the waste and resource industry. It highlights the individuals who are not only actively working on driving lasting change but are also educating and empowering others.

‘It's great to see so many people recognised on the Hot 100 list. At Salvation Army Trading Company, we are proud to sponsor this year's awards, we champion innovation and leadership. Congratulations to Tom Szaky, CEO and Founder of TerraCycle, a worthy winner and Louise Robertson, runner up and Founder of the Sustainables Academy."

From campus composting to global operations

TerraCycle's evolution from a Princeton University project composting worm waste to a global operation with $71 million in annual revenue reflects Szaky's approach to waste challenges. The company now operates across more than 20 countries, developing recycling solutions for materials typically considered impossible to process profitably.

"TerraCycle's mission draws inspiration from the past, before the 1950s, when the concept of waste did not exist," Szaky explains. "My childhood growing up as an immigrant from Hungary, where my family never let anything go to waste, has also informed my philosophy."

This has grounded an approach steeped in pragmatism: "While many believe that recycling is predicated on technical capability, in reality recycling is entirely an issue of economics."

"Nearly everything can be technically recycled, but 95 per cent of all waste is not recycled today. This is because it costs more to collect and process the waste versus what the resulting material can be sold for."

This perspective has enabled TerraCycle to establish recycling programmes for materials including cigarette butts, dirty nappies, chewing gum, and composite packaging. The company's business model addresses the economics by securing sponsorship from brands and partnerships with local authorities, rather than relying solely on material resale value.

Loop expansion in France

Loop, TerraCycle's reuse platform launched at the World Economic Forum in 2019, has expanded significantly in the years since. The system now operates in 345 stores across France, with products from brands including Coca-Cola, Nutella, and Evian available in reusable packaging through retailers Carrefour, Monoprix, and Système U.

"The key to Loop's success has been our relentless focus on convenience and simplicity, to make reuse just as easy and attractive for consumers, retailers, and brands as single-use is today," Szaky observes. "France also has a positive regulatory environment with national reuse targets and available subsidies, which has helped the business case for reuse."

The platform handles diverse types of product, from Häagen-Dazs ice cream to Signal tooth tabs, requiring sophisticated approaches to food safety and cleaning protocols. TerraCycle worked with cleaning industry specialists including ECOLAB and partners such as the World Economic Forum to develop cleaning standards and guidance for brand partners.

"We also work very closely with our brand partners and their technical teams to design cleaning protocols that meet and even exceed their quality requirements," Szaky notes. "This collaborative approach has allowed us to launch even the most risk-sensitive products into Loop, like baby food."

Tackling the causes of waste

Szaky's approach reflects a distinction between managing waste symptoms and addressing underlying causes. "As we expand and grow more established, we have realised that recycling is critically important in the short term, as is the integration of recycled content, but it's not the answer to waste," he explains. "It's the answer to the symptom, but it's not the answer to the root cause of waste: single-use or disposability."

This philosophy underpins both TerraCycle's recycling programmes and Loop's reuse model. The company has explored a range of approaches to extracting value from waste, including examining health insights from waste analysis before recycling.

Beyond commercial operations, TerraCycle engages with policy development. The company has contributed to negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty, submitted commentary to the US Federal Trade Commission Green Guides, and advised on legislation in New Jersey, where the company is headquartered. Szaky co-chaired the Consumers Beyond Waste working group at the World Economic Forum, a multi-stakeholder coalition advancing reuse.

Szaky identifies a fundamental challenge facing circular economy progress: the continued emphasis on cost reduction in product and packaging design. "The dominant megatrend I've observed in products and packaging over the last two decades is cost reduction: the continued push towards designing everything to be cheaper tomorrow versus today," he states. "And whilst this may be a positive for business, it has a direct inverse effect on recyclability."

When value is removed from products and packages, the economics of recycling deteriorate. Szaky emphasises that designing for circularity from the outset, whilst considering the motivation of every link in the supply chain from producers to consumers to waste haulers, is key for closing material loops and preventing waste generation.

The TerraCycle Foundation has removed 2,864,814 lbs of plastic waste from rivers and canals, whilst the company's School Waste Bank Programme focuses on educating students about recycling and sustainability. In 2024, TerraCycle partnered with P&G to collect waste from rivers and natural areas in France, recycling it into podiums for the Paris Olympics.

Reflecting on winning the Innovator of the Year award, Szaky said: "It's an extreme honour and welcome validation that our mission continues to resonate. Though we, along with the broader sustainability movement, currently face global headwinds, this recognition helps uplift not only us, but all of our peers working in this space."