Pioneering specialty coffee roaster Single O is “leading the charge” in bringing sustainable coffee to New South Wales, partnering with sustainability innovator Reground to launch the state’s “first coffee waste diversion program”.
Through the brands’ collaborative ‘Giving a Puck’ campaign, Single O and Reground are tackling one of the industry’s biggest overlooked waste streams – used coffee grounds and creating a more sustainable future for coffee.
This program will enable cafes and restaurants to participate in an easy-to-access coffee waste collection service, helping businesses significantly reduce their environmental footprint.
A number of leading Sydney cafes have already signed on, including Happyfield, Soulmate Coffee, Superfreak, The Bakery on Glenayr, Three Blue Ducks and Bills, demonstrating strong early momentum and industry-wide appetite to shift towards a circular coffee model. Zero-waste roaster Kua Coffee has also come on board as a supporting partner, covering waste collection for all of its customers, including The Commons, Optiver and Vivcourt Trading.
“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,” says Mike Brabant, CEO, Single O. “We’re riled up to finally be fixing it, and excited to help lead the change towards a circular coffee future.”
In the first five years, Reground expects to divert an estimated three million kgs of coffee from landfill (equivalent to 85,000,000 cups of coffee), preventing hundreds of thousands of kilograms of carbon emissions and transforming coffee waste into a valuable resource. Under the partnership, Reground will collect the spent coffee grounds from customers, and divert it back to the local community for numerous beneficial uses, including growing food for local community members.
This program builds on Single O and Reground’s successful partnership in Victoria which launched in 2023, where they led an industry-first product stewardship model. With strong results in Victoria and now momentum in NSW, the partners will roll the program out nationally, creating a movement of circular coffee across Australia.
“Coffee waste isn’t just a by-product – it’s a valuable resource. Responsible disposal is an essential, yet often overlooked, part of the craft of making great coffee,” says Mike Brabant, CEO, Single O. “Giving a Puck flips that script – making what happens after the shot central to good coffee, and leading the industry charge to upcycle grounds, close the loop, and create real impact.
“Our partnership with Reground has already helped us repurpose over 40,000 kgs of coffee waste from our Melbourne cafes over the past two years, preventing more than 88,000 kgs of greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. “Through our sustainability reporting, we found that under scope three, 30% of Single O’s emissions come from spent grounds, so tackling this has been a key focus. Expanding this initiative to NSW means getting grounds out of landfill, reducing greenhouse gases, and ultimately protecting the beautiful natural environment that our hospitality venues operate in – something we believe the NSW hospitality industry will get behind.”
Reground Founder and Director Ninna Larsen says, “People are well aware of the impact of single-use coffee cups, but far fewer realise that coffee ground waste poses an equally significant environmental challenge. When left to decompose in landfill, coffee grounds release harmful greenhouse gases, yet they hold enormous potential as a resource. 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.”
Australia generates over 75,000 tonnes of coffee ground waste annually, with much of it ending up in landfill, where it emits methane, a greenhouse gas approximately 30 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. Through Reground’s innovative approach, these grounds are given a second life, repurposed into compost, worm farms, mushroom cultivation, and even sustainable building materials.
Single O and Reground’s growing partnership into NSW marks a significant step in creating a more sustainable, closed-loop coffee system. Through their partnership, businesses in eligible catchment areas can actively contribute to reducing landfill waste and lowering emissions, while also benefiting from a simple, accessible waste collection solution.
Sustainability is at the core of Single O’s operations, underpinning everything from sourcing to service. The roaster’s long-running ‘No Death to Coffee’ mission is a call to arms for the industry to take collective climate action and preserve the future of specialty coffee. From reducing emissions in its supply chain to pioneering low-waste cafe systems, Single O continues to push for change across the board. Its recent certification as a B Corporation further cements this commitment, recognising the company’s dedication to high standards of environmental and social impact.
Launching with some of Sydney’s leading cafes as part of the first wave, the program will scale up and open to all cafes and restaurants across Sydney from 1 April 2026.
