As keynote speaker at the Greenlight Greater Portland annual meeting, Tom Szaky, co-founder and CEO of Terracycle Inc. demonstrated the pinnacle of breaking down traditional business models in favor of 'eco-capitalism'.

Szaky reminded Greater Portland of what is possible when intentions, discussions and strategies move to the next level: a level of insistent vision, unwavering action and resounding change.

Szaky's delivery was powerful: jargon-free in its frank simplicity, paired with ideas so big they strained the confines of the room. His premise: recycling is not enough. Szaky and his team coined the term "upcycling" to define the strategy of identifying and deploying new uses for discarded material that would typically be labeled "garbage." Garbage is Szaky's raw material.

It is virtually free, and his products - from kites comprised of Oreo cookie packages to reusable Target bags made of reusable Target bags -  are virtually entirely comprised of what would otherwise be discarded as waste. "There is no limitation on what can be made from garbage," Szaky explained. "We've never found a waste stream we couldn't turn into a product."

He has produced and sold millions of units of product by establishing relationships with major retail players such as Walmart and Target, while keeping close company with eco-capitalism pioneers like the founders of Stonyfield Farm Yogurt and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. "We're creating solutions for big companies to adopt," he explained. "They're hungry to be green."

Szaky's living proof-point of big-time clout in a green economy left the audience envisioning real possibilities across many industries.

Terracycle started a revolution - a paradigm shift away from outdated codes of consumerism - that has transformed the way countless kids, adults and corporations think, buy, discard, reuse and engage in a world community beyond the cafeteria or conference room.