From GoogleDocs: "11-25-09: Trash As Tool"

Trash is unutilized material.

Additionally, what we call "trash" is what 

we are used to calling trash, meaning 

that it will be all the harder to think of 

new uses for it. 

A means of brainstorming for trash, then, 

is to think of things going from a lower usage 

(perhaps we could reference copper coins here 

and their $0.01 official value) to a higher 

usage (that being a penny melted down and 

sold for a higher value (such as $0.02 per)). 

Trash, then, is a perceived zero value. 

Not to say that, objectively, it could be said 

to have no value, but that, perhaps, a non-zero 

usage could be thought of.

The difference of going from 1 to 2, as compared 

from 0 to 1 might only seem like the difference 

of 1, but going from no value to some value 

places an item in an entirely different category 

of thought.

The difference between 0 to 1 and 1 to 2 could 

be demonstrated by the following thought experiment: 

Let's say you're washing some dishes by hand and 

using some soap, or you're putting the dishes in 

the dishwasher. The dishes get cleaned and put 

away, to be used again later.

Now another scenario:

You buy something at a garage sale, and you sell 

it on eBay.

The difference between these two scenarios 

isn't exactly that subtle, and the application of 

one onto the other makes for an interesting 

combination. But, first, what is the difference 

between what's going on in each? 

In the first one, there is a net loss or a net 

zero. The dishes are washed - goal accomplished - 

and the water goes to the waste bucket. 

In the second one, a potential profit is being looked 

for. 

The combination of both makes for a huge profit, 

especially given how much trash people have. 

And there are two ways of going about it. 

If you know of a way to make the trash profitable, 

you could charge for taking people's trash, and then 

make a profit off of the trash -- a double whammy. 

Or, you could tell people about it and they could 

profit from it, or give it to you so that you could 

profit from it and give them a percentage of what 

you make.

Let's take toilet paper rolls as an example. 

I'm not sure if you've wondered about it 

for a long time, but I have: 

What if you could find a use for those end 

cardboard things? We use toilet paper all the 

time, and there's a constant supply of those 

little cylinders. If someone thought of a 

profitable use for them, they would be 

in the money... big time.