Nobody would have believed TerraCycle founder Tom Szaky when he said everything could be recovered at a profit - until he proved it. As remarkable as it is crazy, Szaky has tackled complex and formerly valueless materials - such as chip packets, drink pouches and cigarette butts - and turned them into bestselling products stocked at major retailers like Walmart. Now he has brought his remarkable business model to Australia - but the TerraCycle story starts on the other side of the world.

A US business launching an expansion into Australia this week is tackling the recycling of some of the nation’s most pernicious items of consumer waste, while at the same time generating some of its funds for community organisations and schools.

For the first time in Australia, cigarette butts will be able to be recycled to become industrial plastic products, including shipping pallets, railway sleepers and even ashtrays. Australia this week became the ninth country to join the cigarette butt recycling scheme, where collected butts can be posted to the recycler free of charge.

Cigarette butts collected as part of Clean Up Australia day will be able to be recycled for the first time. Butts are the second most littered item in Australia so effective collection and recycling makes sense. Anna Minns, the general manager of waste collection program TerraCycle, says Australia is the eighth country to see the introduction of the new process. “First we separate them, and the organic waste – which is the ash, tobacco and the paper – is composted in industrial composting,” she said.

Hats off to everyone who participated in Clean Up Australia Day – what a great initiative. And this year the recycling program has broadened to include cigarette butts thanks to TERRACYCLE. You can find more info on their cigarette waste recycling program here http://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/cigarette-waste-brigade.html Read more about the Clean Up Australia program here http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-02/clean-up-australia-day-cigarette-butts-recycled/5293296 or at http://www.cleanup.org.au/au/ - See more at: http://wastemanagementplan.com.au/242#sthash.UmLmj9Ha.dpuf

We all try to do our part. If nothing else, most people will throw their recyclables into those yellow-lidded bins. But what do you do with non-recyclables? American start-up TerraCycle have saved 2.6 billion pieces of waste through their upcycling process which turns hard to recycle waste into new products. Founder and CEO Tom Szaky spoke with Tim Higgins about TerraCycle's unique brand of upcycling, which has now started up in Australia.

Clean Up Australia Day chairman Ian Kiernan said a three per cent drop in litter found by an estimated 800,000 volunteers around the country showed Australians were being more mindful of the environment all year round.

Waste isn’t always the sexiest topic. When I tell people about the green business that I run and what we do, for some it’s a topic they would prefer to avoid thinking about. Once something is placed in the rubbish – it’s out of sight out of mind. But our waste ends up somewhere, whether it is at the local tip or in our oceans.

Cigarette butts collected as part of Clean Up Australia day will be able to be recycled for the first time. Thousands of Australians will help clean up the nation today, and every location taking part in the event will receive a satchel for the butts. The butts - the second most littered item in Australia - will then be turned into more sustainable materials. Anna Minns, the general manager of waste collection program TerraCycle, says Australia is the eighth country to see the introduction of the new process.

Incase you missed it, here's TerraCycle on the Today Show "Recycling Revolution" for our recent launch in Australia. Share this with friends and encourage them to join a brigade today!