Every year, Australians send 220,000 tonnes of clothing to landfill. The worst part? Much of it is still wearable, or could be recycled if sorted correctly. Every item that ends up in landfill represents a missed opportunity: to recycle clothing, recover valuable fibres, to reimagine how we handle textiles, and to move toward a truly circular clothing economy. Enter Sort for Good. Australia's first sorting trial for wearable and unwearable textiles is tackling this problem head-on. Sort for Good is testing whether Australians are ready to sort their clothing at the point of donation by separating what can be worn again from what needs to be recycled. Funded by Seamless Circular Clothing Textiles Fund and lead by SCR Group, Reground is a proud project support partner alongside WRAP and RMIT University. We've also partnered with Windarring - a local Kyneton organisation supporting people with disabilities and their families - to deliver and pick up collection bags to residents who are taking part in the trial. The goal? To find pathways that keep textiles out of landfill and create a future where every clothing item is valued, recovered, and kept in circulation for as long as possible. This is how we build a circular clothing economy, one sorted garment at a time.
Projects
At the 2024 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, Reground joined forces with the F1 team to bring sustainability to the forefront of Melbourne's most loved racing event. The focus was on resource recovery, waste education, and meaningful attendee engagement.
Reground’s efforts led 740 kilograms of ground coffee being rescued from landfill - avoiding 1,406 kilograms of emissions.
Manned recycling stations provided essential support, reducing contamination across four key waste streams. Through interactive education at the Innovation Hub, attendees learned how circular economy practices make a real difference - turning curiosity into action.
How Reground collaborated with 60 multi-unit dwellings (MUDs) across 10 councils to create innovative and resident-focused waste systems.
In response to evolving waste management practices and the increasing demand for improved recycling infrastructure, Reground embarked on an ambitious project to overhaul waste systems in 60 apartment buildings.
Recognising the disparity between single-unit dwellings and multi-unit dwellings regarding waste management solutions, we found that MUDs were often left behind, with many residents wanting more. This project aimed to bridge the gap.
How Reground designed, installed and educated staff and residents to use a circular and user-friendly waste system at this unique residential space.
From waste audit to analysis to installation, the Reground team designed and implemented simple changes allowing staff and residents to recover and recycle well over half of the waste being produced on site.
As a dynamic residential and community space, bespoke signage, education and engagement were also significant parts of our work with Odyssey House.
Following the Victorian Government’s mandate of statewide kerbside reform - aimed at providing more and better recycling services for all Victorians - local councils have been quickly moving to standardise a new four-bin system for waste and recycling.
Merri-bek City Council engaged Reground to support all residents to be able to access Food and Garden Organics (FOGO) and Glass recycling services (in addition to their existing General Waste and Mixed Recycling.)
In some cases, it was determined that the introduction of private bins for these new streams was not practicable for all residences; instead, shared collection points could be installed giving all residents convenient access to the new recycling streams.
Merri-bek City Council - a metropolitan Melbourne council with over 170,000 residents, is recognised as a leader in sustainably policy and a first-mover in waste and recycling reform. In mid 2023, Merri-bek embarked on a significant milestone in its Kerbside Waste Reform by introducing a four bin kerbside service.
Reground, a circular economy social enterprise with expertise in resource recovery, logistics and behaviour change, played a pivotal role in the success of this very important project not only in delivery but by liasing with residents to ensure their needs were met.
Preshil, a Resource Smart Primary School, wanted to overhaul their waste system and tackle some of the sticky issues in school resource management.
By involving the entire school in the process - and nominating waste champions in each class to follow through with the waste resolutions students and staff jointly agreed upon - Preshil is on track to reduce their waste to landfill by 80%
By consulting with industry leaders from across the supply chain, Reground was able to create a living document supporting the coffee industry (and coffee drinkers) towards more sustainable choices for coffee packaging.
Reground conducted waste flow analyses and audits to generate comprehensive qualitative and quantitative waste data, optimising systems and boosting resource recovery at seven Melbourne Mirvac buildings.
Reground’s residential partnerships look at every aspect of apartment waste behaviour, from physical waste areas to commercial contracts to resident behaviour and engagement. Through a tailored and data-driven approach to waste management Reground seeks to reduce waste to landfill, increase circularity and align systems with resident values.
Reground conducted a two-stage project to successfully transition Sunshine and St Albans Activity Centres to more circular models.
Reground established a six-stream resource recovery system with a core focus on waste avoidance and landfill reduction alongside waste behaviour education at East Brunswick Village.
Reground conducted a three-tiered tailored waste minimisation program to help Trek Bicycles Australia achieve their sustainability goals.