2.7m households now have access to coffee pod recycling

Coffee pod recycling service Podback has partnered with 14 local authorities to add 64 new HWRC sites to its network.  

The service said that a further three million households will also be given access as new sites are launched.  

Promoting access to coffee pod recycling 

Podback has said that it is supporting HWRCs by providing the sites with containers, site signage and marketing support materials to help launch and promote the service. 

It usually takes approximately six weeks from agreement to getting the service live.  

Once up and running, Podback organises collections from the HWRCs and onward processing within the UK.  

The service also provides local authorities with data for Waste Data Flow, meaning that the pods can be attributed to recycling rates. 

LARAC told Letsrecycle.com: “It’s fantastic to see that Podback has hit yet another milestone, enabling increasing numbers of households to capture and recycle these items that, just a few years ago, would have gone to landfill or for incineration.

“Now, instead, we see the packaging recycled into new products, and the coffee grounds turned into renewable energy and soil improver. The expansion of the collection scheme to more households is great news and increases accessibility for citizens wanting to recycle their coffee pods, not only at the kerbside, but also through collection banks at HWRCs.

“Podback clearly has an incredibly valuable role in ensuring that, as policy reforms are introduced, the UK’s increasing recycling and recovery targets are met.”

Challenges of the scheme 

A challenge of the scheme is that it largely requires consumers to drop off the pods themselves – either at local HWRCs or participating locations such as coffee shops, corner stores and supermarkets.

Unlike dropping off at an HWRC recycling point, returning the bags to a drop-off location requires the use of a Podback bag which can be acquired for free from participating retailers including Nespresso and Starbucks.  

In some parts of the country, consumers can book a collection service for their filled Podback bags. 

Podback recycles both plastic and aluminium pods, but these items need to be sorted separately in respective bags. 

At HWRC recycling points, pods can be saved in any bag or container and tipped loose into the Podback bins.  

Podback said that feedback from consumers shows that they want coffee pod recycling to fit within their routines. It aims to develop a range of recycling options so that taking pods to an HWRC or dropping them off at a supermarket or coffee shop can become second nature. 

Find out more about adding coffee pod recycling to your HWRC at the LARAC Lounge at the RWM Expo in Birmingham on 11-12 September.