UK rolls out coffee pod recycling at household waste recycling centres

FCC Environment (FCC) and coffee pod recycling scheme Podback have announced plans to expand coffee pod recycling at household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) in England and Wales.

This expansion follows a successful pilot at 11 FCC HWRC sites in Suffolk and two in Berkshire. In the first six months of the Berkshire pilot, 14 tonnes of pods were collected, demonstrating strong consumer demand.

The rollout is underway, with sites in Wigan and Luton set to launch in early July, and more locations to be announced in the coming months.

Podback will provide recycling centres with containers and signage and manage collection and logistics to UK-based reprocessors. They will also assist local authorities in launching and promoting the new service to residents.

Residents can recycle used coffee pods at their local HWRC without needing special bags. They should keep aluminium and plastic pods separate and drop them off loose into the relevant containers.

Recycled aluminium from the pods is used to manufacture beverage cans and car components, while recycled plastic is used for packaging crates and building products. Used coffee grounds are processed through anaerobic digestion to produce biogas and soil improver.

Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Podback said: Our pilots over the last year with FCC have proved successful and have received positive feedback from residents using the service. We hope offering people another option to recycle their used pods will help to make recycling even more convenient and accessible and increase rates of recycling overall in these new locations. We have an active pipeline for local authority wanting to include Podback at their recycling centres and look forward to announcing more soon.

Podback will share data on the tonnage and destination of collected pods with local authorities, enhancing local recycling data.