About Cercle
Cercle is redesigning how Australia thinks about reuse
Our Mission
To create the hassle free reusables of the future.
Reuse without a new routine
Drink
it
Drop
it
Do it
again
Our design methodology
We design systems and solutions, not just products.
Our approach blends:
- User-first design
- Cleaner-centred operations
- Rigorous durability testing
- Circularity principles
- Behaviour-led communication
Cercle is proud to be recognised by the Good Design Awards for our commitment to practical, scalable circular solutions.
Our Story
How Cercle went from counting disposable cups to reshaping reuse across Australia.
2026
Where we are now
Sydney, Melbourne and beyond.
We operate in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and are expanding. We support large commercial precincts, partner with government programs and continue to refine the future of circular coffee systems.
And this is only the beginning.
2025
June: Social Traders Certification
We become a Social Enterprise
We operate in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and are expanding. We support large commercial precincts, partner with government programs and continue to refine the future of circular coffee systems.
And this is only the beginning.
August: Food Containers Launched
We become a Social Enterprise
We operate in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and are expanding. We support large commercial precincts, partner with government programs and continue to refine the future of circular coffee systems.
And this is only the beginning.
2024
May: Reimagined Drop Pod + trolley system
Developing wash systems & Australian-made products.
From off-site wash hubs to portable Drop Pods for major venues like MCEC, we evolve our products to suit real operational demands.
By 2024, our Australian-made components, new Pod designs, and deep data insights lead us toward a complete system that works at building and precinct scale.
September: Good Design Award
Service Design – Gold.
From off-site wash hubs to portable Drop Pods for major venues like MCEC, we evolve our products to suit real operational demands.
By 2024, our Australian-made components, new Pod designs, and deep data insights lead us toward a complete system that works at building and precinct scale.
2023
January: UTS drop-testing program
Design meets durability.
With UTS, we stress-test thousands of drops to understand how reusable cups degrade over time — and how to build them stronger.
October: QLD Govt Beyond Cups Program
Funded winner
Queensland, looking to accelerate solutions for coffee cup waste, an identified target for future single use plastic bans, ran an innovation competition for current solutions. As a winner, Cercle was able to connect and work with Australia’s first 6 star-rated green building to set up our reuse system.
2022
March: Boomerang Labs Accelerator Program
Recording every use.
Data becomes a core part of our mission. Every reuse event helps us understand durability, damage rates and how real-world behaviour shapes the system.
April: Official launch with Mirvac & City of Sydney
Cercle officially launches.
Supported by Mirvac and the City of Sydney, we announce our mission and model: a reuse system built on design, data and operational simplicity.
With artist Marina DeBris, we build Hydra — a sculpture made entirely from collected disposable cups, capturing the enormity of the problem.
September: Macquarie Bank pilot
Scaling across buildings.
Pilots begin across Macquarie Bank and multiple commercial towers. Sentiment grows. Results speak for themselves.
2021
March: Begin recording every reuse
Recording every use.
Data becomes a core part of our mission. Every reuse event helps us understand durability, damage rates and how real-world behaviour shapes the system.
April: Our first customer — and the shift to systems thinking
Building the first Drop Pod.
Alongside building cleaners, we design a safe, sealed collection system for metal cups. Compressed air, vertical tubes, clear signage — a completely new approach to reusable logistics.
We begin testing how to make reuse frictionless for the everyday coffee drinker. Our operating model starts to form: the problem isn’t the cup. It’s the system around it.
November: A whole building switches to reuse. Overnight.
EY Sydney goes 100% reusable overnight.
EY Sydney converts entirely to Cercle in a single night. Hundreds of cups collected daily. Cleaners on board. Return rates climb.
We film the mountain of cups collected inside one building — a visual demonstration of how quickly waste accumulates. Awareness grows.
2020
February: Count 1,600 cups at 200 George St
It began with a count.
Patrick and James collect 1,600 disposable cups — just two days of waste from 200 George Street in Sydney. A simple pattern emerges: more than 70% of these cups travel less than 50 metres. The waste problem is hyper-local.
March: Discover 70% of cups travel <50m
Understanding behaviour.
By analysing branding on disposed cups, we discover most cups never leave the building. The insight is clear: any solution must work exactly where people already drink coffee.
October: Design direction: reusable as intuitive as disposable
Reimagining what a reusable cup could be.
We commit to designing a reusable cup that behaves like a disposable. Easy to stack, easy to store, unmistakably different — and intuitive for anyone to use.
Meet the Team
Patrick
Co-founder | CEO
Ex corporate professional focused on reuse after an epiphany about plastic waste. Leading our reuse tech and development.
Steve
Co-founder | Director
Café owner with extensive operational and deep industry expertise, driving scalable reuse and smart transition.
Chad
Chief Reuse Officer
Marine scientist and project manager passionate about impact and protecting our oceans for our future generations.
Rose
Reuse technician
Our first legendary wash hub worker and social enterprise employee.
Anita
Reuse technician
Anita is a key member of our Sydney Wash Hub operations. “Every accomplishment begins with the courage to keep going.”
Steven
Reuse technician
Steven is a key member of our Sydney Wash Hub operations. A service pro where no job is too big or small.
Trusted By
We collaborate with property groups, government programs, sustainability leaders, cafés and creative partners to expand reuse across office buildings, precincts and cities.
Become a friend of reuse and help us scale circular impact.
