This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Adam Johnson sees a world without waste. That's not a world where people don't throw stuff away, but a world that adds value to this stuff and pulls it back into the productive economy rather than treating it as waste. It's a world where there is a continued tumult of experimentation, of scalable learning (to borrow a term from The Power of Pull), of openness and sharing to realise the abundance contained within what we throw away. It is a space for a new breed of entrepreneurs.

Adam Johnson is the Founder of Garbologie, a business formed to create a world without waste. The idea behind Garbologie is to create networks of waste entrepreneurs, each addressing a particular type of waste. Garbologie is the physical expression of the ideas that Adam talks about around a world without waste. Garbologie currently runs a mattress recycling business that processes around 1,000 mattresses per week and a waste transfer station called Tip/ Shop.

Adam has worked for more than 15 years in waste management, with his last job being as Chief Executive Officer for the Western Metropolitan Regional Council. He has been responsible for large waste operations when Director Waste Services for the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council, including the development of the Hazelmere timber and mattress recycling operations. In previous roles, Adam has worked for a consultancy in New South Wales and Western Australia, a Council in Victoria and starting his career at EPA Victoria.

Adam has a deep understanding of waste management, and specifically the opportunities within waste management.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)