Nose on glass, a tiny boy stared into distant darkness from the window of an Indiana farmhouse, waiting for an orange glow. Fire-watch. If the boy spotted flames, the prize was a rumbling ride beside his father on a no-cab dozer through a landfill to bury the blaze.

Born to bootstrap and raised in the shadow of enterprising farmers, the boy took to competition like bulldog to bone. The boy was Jordan Caldwell. Over 25 years later, he is a composting king hellbent on ROI, with no grass under his feet. “I was put on this earth with a killer instinct,” he says. “I’m motivated by money, but driven by success.”

Riding risk and reward beyond the rows, Jordan proves the adage: One man’s trash is another’s treasure.

Where to begin with a most red-blooded, American tale? With a peculiar alchemy—gravel into gold.