FCC Environment (FCC) and coffee pod recycling scheme Podback have announced plans to roll out coffee pod recycling across household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) in England and Wales.
The expansion follows a successful pilot of coffee pod recycling at 11 FCC HWRC sites in Suffolk operated on behalf of Suffolk County Council and two in Berkshire.
In the first six months of operations at the Berkshire sites, Podback said they collected 14 tonnes of pods.
Residents do not need to use special Podback bags to return their used coffee pods at the local HWRC, however, they must separate their aluminium and plastic pods.
The rollout of the Podback service is currently in progress with sites across Wigan and Luton are due to launch in early July.
As part of the rollout, Podback will provide the recycling centres with containers and signage and will manage the collection and onward logistics of material to UK-based reprocessors.
Podback said it will also support each local authority to launch and promote the new service to residents.
We have an active pipeline for local authorities wanting to include Podback at their recycling centres and look forward to announcing more soon.
Podback also said it will share information on the tonnage and destination of all the pods collected with local authority WasteDataFlow, to help local authorities improve their recycling data.
The used aluminium and plastic pods are recycled in the UK. Podback said aluminium is used in the manufacture of beverage cans and car components, and plastic is used in the manufacture of a range of items, including packaging crates and building products.
The used coffee grounds are treated by anaerobic digestion to produce renewable energy (biogas) and soil improver, Podback said.
Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Podback, commented: “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 authorities wanting to include Podback at their recycling centres and look forward to announcing more soon.”
