B-Corp certified coffee roaster Single O has partnered with sustainability trailblazer Reground to launch the first dedicated coffee waste diversion program in New South Wales, Australia.
This ‘Giving a Puck’ campaign is set to tackle used coffee grounds, one of the most overlooked waste streams, as it shifts towards a circular coffee model in pursuit of a more sustainable coffee future.
In practice, the program helps cafes and restaurants reduce their environmental footprint through a coffee waste collection service, in which some leading Sydney cafes have shown interest and registered as participants in the initial phase.
“Spent grounds are the coffee industry’s hidden waste problem. We think about takeaway cup waste, but we tend not to think about the spent coffee puck from our morning latte that goes to landfill,” said Mike Brabant, CEO of Single O.
“We’re riled up to finally be fixing it, and excited to help lead the change towards a circular coffee future.”
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Giving a Puck builds on the two companies’ strong partnership in 2023, which, according to Brabant, has helped Single O repurpose over 40,000kgs of coffee waste from its Melbourne cafes over the past two years, preventing more than 88,000kgs of greenhouse gas emissions. Reground now aims to maintain that momentum by upcycling over 3 million coffee pucks from landfills in the first five years. Those spent coffee grounds will be collected and diverted back to the local community as resources for other uses, proving that coffee waste is more than just a by-product.
“Responsible disposal is an essential, yet often overlooked, part of the craft of making great coffee,” Brabant said, stressing that this program is meant to flip that script.
Data reports that Australia generates more than 75,000 tonnes of coffee ground waste each year, much of which ends up in landfills that eventually contribute to increased harmful emissions. With both companies where sustainability remains at the core, this innovative approach gives the grounds a second life through a more closed-loop system, while raising people’s awareness of how coffee waste poses an equally significant environmental concern as single-use coffee cups.
“Through our sustainability reporting, we found that under scope three, 30 per cent of Single O’s emissions come from spent grounds, so tackling this has been a key focus,” Brabant continued.
Ninna Larsen, founder and director of Reground, added: “By expanding this initiative to NSW, we’re not just reducing waste – we’re empowering businesses to take meaningful action and rethink the entire lifecycle of coffee.”
The ‘Giving a Puck’ program will further expand and open to all cafes and restaurants across Sydney from April 1 next year.
