Marty Metro is the Founder & CEO of UsedCardboardBoxes.com (UCB), a venture-funded reuse company tackling the gratuitous $50 billion cardboard industry in the US, where most boxes are used once, then recycled or simply thrown away. A former “Big 6” consultant with an MBA, Metro has become a prolific eco-entrepreneur, successfully balancing the need for financial returns with his passion for environmental and social responsibility.  Metro was far from an overnight success. In 2002, he initially launched a retail model to serve the Los Angeles area, with dreams of a national franchise. This first attempt was undercapitalized and riddled with logistical challenges. In 2005, Metro was forced to cease operations and absorb over $300,000 of personal debt. Devastated but not discouraged, Metro took a “day job” as an ERP consultant and devoted his nights and weekends to pursuing his dream. Within a year, Metro raised venture capital, rewrote the business plan and launched a more scalable, tech-centric model, known today as UCB. Beginning with a pilot distribution center in Los Angeles, Metro expanded UCB across the entire country.  

Today, UCB works with some of the largest manufacturers, distributors and retailers in the country. They “rescue” quality used boxes from within a supply chain, and often pays more than the recycling rate. UCB then inspects sorts and inventories those very same boxes to be resold as a low-cost, eco-friendly alternative to new. Most boxes are sold by the truckload to other large companies and many are used to make UCB’s eco-friendly moving kits, for consumers