PATRICK FITZGERALD
PER
PATRICK FITZGERALD
Patrick FitzGerald found himself distracted as he studied for the bar exam at Fordham University five years ago. He began poking around Web sites and news articles about the economics of recycling, and concluded that one of the industry's biggest problems was motivating its suppliers, the people who generate garbage. Mr. FitzGerald quit his job at a Wall Street law firm, moved back into his mother's attic in suburban Philadelphia and began working the phones and Internet search engines, making contacts in the solid-waste industry and finding retailers who were willing to participate in a customer rewards program. PATRICK FITZGERALD found himself distracted as he studied for the bar exam at Fordham University five years ago. He began poking around Web sites and news articles about the economics of recycling, and concluded that one of the industry's biggest problems was motivating its suppliers -- the people who generate garbage. Quitting his job at a Wall Street law firm, Mr. FitzGerald  moved back into his mother's attic in suburban Philadelphia and began working the phones and Internet search engines, making contacts in the solid-waste industry and finding retailers who were willing to participate in a customer rewards program. The project's success has helped Mr. FitzGerald and Mr. Gonen to sell the RecycleBank program to several municipalities in the mid-Atlantic and New England regions.