During a Saturday interview with HuffPost Live at Davos, William McDonough explained his unusual approach to viewing waste.
"I like to sit in garbage cans, metaphorically," McDonough said.
McDonough explained how toxins in packaging -- like in the ink on a cereal box -- can hurt soil, so he's working to come up with a better system for returning waste.
McDonough kept that idea in mind while working with Brad Pitt to build houses in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
"We're at about 110 [houses] now, we're going to do 150 total, so we're doing pretty well, it's not easy to do this stuff," McDonough said.
McDonough said his favorite stories are of kids who are leaving FEMA trailers with asthma to move into the houses from Pitt and McDonough, and having their health restored.
"It's beautiful," McDonough said.
See McDonough's interview above, and see more from Davos below: