TerraCycle outline plans to "up-cycle" its revenue

Self-styled "up-cycling" specialist TerraCycle has revealed it is on track to increase US sales fourfold next year, as the company shifts to a new manufacturing model designed to significantly increase its production of consumer goods made from waste materials.

Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, chief executive Tom Szaky said the firm expected sales of its "up-cycled" bags, pencil cases, and garden products to hit $10m (£6.1m) this year, before increasing to $50m during 2010.

He explained that the rapid growth would be enabled by expansion of a " Disney-style" manufacturing model whereby the company licenses its product designs to manufacturing partners and provides them with the waste raw materials.

He added that securing supplies of waste raw materials is unlikely to be a problem given that TerraCycle's US waste collection "brigades", which collect and return waste in return for donations to a charity of their choice, reach six million people and are growing fast.

The company is also committed to replicating its US success in the UK, where it launched last month in partnership with Kraft Foods and has begun collecting waste Kenco and Tassimo packaging.

"In the UK at the moment we have three [waste streams], but we envisage getting up to 40 waste streams in the UK within two years," Szaky said, adding that the company was in talks with consumer brands and manufacturing partners, and expected to launch several new waste-collection schemes within the coming months.