Single O and Reground Launch Sydney’s First Large-Scale Coffee Upcycling Initiative ♻️
Every great cup of coffee has a story—from the farm to the roast to the perfectly pulled shot. But what happens when the story ends? For far too long, the journey of the spent coffee grounds, or "pucks," ended ignominiously in a landfill, where they decompose and contribute to harmful methane emissions.
Single O and Melbourne-based social enterprise Reground are changing that narrative in a major way with the launch of the “Giving a Puck” initiative—NSW’s first dedicated large-scale coffee grounds upcycling program.
Why We Need to Start Giving a Puck
The statistics around coffee waste are staggering. Approximately 75,000 million kilos of spent coffee grounds are dumped into Australian landfills annually. This represents over 2 billion coffee pucks, which, laid side-by-side, would reportedly circle Australia twice.
As Single O Founder Emma Cohen puts it, “As the name implies, Giving A Puck means giving a f*ck about the complete coffee quality cycle, by focussing beyond the shot, to the bean’s final journey.”
The mission is simple yet vital: to treat the disposal of grounds with as much care as their sourcing, roasting, and brewing, establishing upcycling as a key, missing part of a true specialty coffee mindset.
How the Program Works
The initiative brings Reground’s successful circular economy model, which has already rescued millions of kilos of grounds in Melbourne, to the cafes of Sydney.
Collection: Reground collects spent coffee grounds from participating Sydney cafes.
Cost-Effective: Cafes pay a collection fee that is competitive with (or comparable to) their general waste costs.
Repurposing: The collected grounds are hyper-locally repurposed. Instead of rotting in a landfill, they are provided free of charge to end users like community gardens, farmers, and home growers, where they serve as a valuable resource for enriching soil.
This system effectively turns a major environmental burden into a beneficial resource, reducing environmental harm while championing the circular economy.
The Scale of the Impact
The "Giving a Puck" program is launching in phases, starting with a strong foundation:
Initial Phase: The program initially includes approximately 180 cafes across Sydney, leveraging Single O’s café client network, along with other supportive roasters and neighborhood partners.
Future Expansion: The goal is to see the program grow its roots deep across Sydney, with Stage 2 planning to open Sydney-wide for broader uptake.
Projected Success: In its first 18 months, the initiative is projected to have upcycled over 3 million pucks, making an immediate and measurable impact on local waste streams.
This collaboration between a leading coffee roaster and a pioneering social enterprise proves that delivering quality doesn't just mean what's in the cup—it means taking responsibility for what comes after.
Cafes: Keen to Deliver Quality Beyond the Shot?
If you're a cafe owner or barista in Sydney ready to elevate your coffee craft by making a sustainable choice for "Mamma Earth," you can start giving a puck by signing up for the service.
For more information and to get a quote, you can visit the GIVING A PUCK website.