The future of recycling in your hands!
Join thousands of Australian homes just like yours that have kept 10,000+ kg of soft plastic out of landfill
“So easy to do and was an eye opener as to how much soft plastic gets put into landfill and not recycled. I love that I can recycle soft plastic and with two kids under 2 this is an easy way I can do my bit to help reduce landfill waste.”
Help to divert targeted materials from landfill – Curby It!
You can now recycle Soft plastics and Other Approved Materials at home!
“This is a fantastic initiative to help those who are time poor to also contribute to soft plastic recycling. It was also a great visual reminder of how much soft plastic is going through my home and about changes I could make to reduce it.”
It’s simple to join!
Download the Curby App to confirm what services are available in your area.
Then simply collect Curby recyclables and put them into a CurbyBag.
Curby it!
Once the Bag is full, tightly tie the bag and attach a CurbyTag.
Scan the CurbyTag to earn rewards before placing the bag inside your regular yellow lid recycling bin for collection.
Initially, Curby ran as a trial with over 2,500+ households in the Central Coast, NSW and is currently being rolled out to 1 Million Australians.
Will your home be next?
Find out by downloading the Curby App!
Here’s what our participants had to say
“The best initiative ever! Has been easy and made our household more aware of every recycling opportunity than ever before. As a result we now have a lot less waste in our red bin and are spreading the word about recycling programs in our workplaces. Well done! And thanks for the opportunity”
“I thought this was a fantastic initiative to help those who are time poor to also contribute to soft plastic recycling. It was also a great visual reminder of how much soft plastic is going through my home and about changes I could make to reduce it.”
“Loved it. Such a simple way to recycle soft plastics”
“It’s such a fantastic program, I was so happy you started it. We were previously taking our soft plastics to the supermarket red bins but would often forget and turn up to woolworths looking like santa with 3 huge bags of soft plastics (embarrassing!) This is a really useful program.”
Available in
Trial Survey Results
Community impact
2,437
Active participants
14,165
Bags scanned to date
10,000+
kg of soft plastics collected to date
Common questions
What is a CurbyTag?
The CurbyTag is a sticker which you’ll need to attach to the outside of the Curby Bag once you have filled with clean soft plastic and tied it.
The tag includes a QR code which will be used to help identify the bags at the recycling centre and also provide information to assess how the program is working.
What does the QR Code do on the CurbyTag or CurbyBag?
The QR code is used to help identify the bags at the recycling centre and also provide information to assess how the program is working. If you opt into scanning the QR code using the Curby App you will earn Curby points which can be used to compete with others in your home to see who can does the best job with recycling.
Why do I need to use the CurbyTags? What will happen if I use the CurbyBags without the tags?
Attaching the CurbyTags (unless you have QR Codes directly printed on your CurbyBag) is a critical step to help us make sure that the soft plastics are recovered by sorting equipment at the recycling facility. Please follow the simple instructions on the CurbyBags.
If you do not have a CurbyTag, then please don’t put your soft plastics in the recycling bin. The CurbyTag clearly marks the bag for collection and avoids the soft plastic being sent to landfill.
If you have a coffee capsule CurbyBag then you do not need a CurbyTag.
What is the Curby mission?
Curby has a vision for a future where targeted materials such as soft plastic, fabrics and coffee capsules are diverted from landfill. Curby has conducted trials to build solutions to measurably achieve this goal.
As an example, almost all the soft plastic used in Australia goes to landfill, with only a fraction being recycled. We think Australia can do better, and that there’s an opportunity to turn used soft plastic and other targeted materials into a resource.
Experience in Australia and around the world shows that people are more likely to recycle when it’s easy to access. That’s why we have invested in an innovative, fun way to collect recyclables from households, using existing kerbside recycling bins.
What has Curby learnt from conducting trials?
The trials conducted on the Central Coast of NSW included over 2,500+ registered households. After 6 months we conducted a detailed survey on the Curby Program and were pleased to see that we received 4.8 out of 5 stars for the overall trial program. Notably 100% of participants asked us to roll out the Curby Program to the broader community.
How does the Curby Program impact recycling rates?
Based on surveys conducted with Curby trial participants we have measurably increased recycling rates by up to 44%.
I know someone that wants to join the Curby Program, how do they join?
Curby is currently being rolled out to 1 million Australians in NSW region. To see If the Curby Program is available in your area simply download the Curby App and register your address.
If we need to place you onto a waitlist because the Curby Program is not available in your council area we will keep you up to date so that may participate once the Curby Program is more broadly available.
Anyone can register to be kept updated on the Curby program.
When will this be introduced to other Councils?
The Curby Program is being conducted with residents in a number of NSW council areas.
We have a vision for a future where no soft plastic, fabric or coffee capsules go to landfill. As we learn from the Curby trials and confirm the best approaches to collecting, sorting and processing materials, we will seek to expand the program nationally.
Why does the Curby Program use an additional plastic bag?
We’ve made the CurbyBag from 70% recycled plastic content to minimise how much new plastic we use, we acknowledge this challenge. We initially require materials to be collected using the supplied CurbyBag for each material type.
Soft plastics are so light and flexible that sorting equipment can’t separate them from other items in the recycling bin. This has been one of the biggest obstacles to collecting and processing soft plastics. The CurbyBag aims to overcome this by containing the soft plastics and making it possible to sort them.
All CurbyBags are fully recycled together with all the materials collected.
I have requested a CurbyPack, when will it arrive?
To continue to provide a free program to the community we use the most cost effective shipping method available through Aus Post. For this reason we’re not able to provide parcel tracking and are subject to the delays caused by Covid and Christmas. All orders are shipped within 24 hours (weekdays only) via Aus Post with a current estimated delivery of 2-3 weeks.
With Covid delays and coming into Christmas, we appreciate your patience and understanding and assure you we’re doing our best to get everyone’s CurbyPacks to them as soon as possible.
I have sent an enquiry to Curby, when will I hear back?
Let’s keep soft plastics and other approved materials out of landfill.
Join the Curby movement and give your household waste a new life.
