Coffee lovers will be able to recycle their used machine pods in scheme launching later this month 

Coffee lovers will be able to recycle their used machine pods through kerbside collections and at local shops in scheme launching later this month

  • Podback will see Britons able to recycle their coffee pods for the very first time
  • Materials in coffee pods previously presented challenges when recycling them
  • New scheme has backing from Nespresso, Nescafe Dolce Gusto and Tassimo
  • Scheme will see pods collected alongside household waste and other recycling 

Britons will soon be able to recycle their coffee pods alongside their usual rubbish as part of a new scheme.

For the first time, some councils will offer the option of collecting used coffee pods and then recycling them.

Other areas of the country will see people able to bring in their pods to local stores and dispose of them using Collect plus. 

The initiative, called Podback, has been created by a a partnership between Nestle and Jacobs Douwe Egberts UK.

Britons will soon be able to recycle their coffee pods alongside their usual rubbish as part of a new scheme. For the first time, some councils will offer the option of collecting used coffee pods and then recycling them (stock image)

It has already received backing from Nespresso, Nescafe Dolce Gusto and Tassimo, all of whom manufacture coffee machines.

Britons using coffee machines use around 340million pods every year and previously, councils would not accept them as part of household recycling. 

This is because the aluminium pods normally contain a fabric filter which complicates recycling.

While plastic pods, which consist of two or three layers of material, present their own challenges.   

Speaking about Podback, Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: ‘I am really pleased to see industry coming together and taking this important step to ensure coffee pods can be recycled more easily.

‘It’s the kind of initiative that many consumers are looking for and which will help to create a more circular economy for our waste and resources, with more materials being recycled and reused and less being consigned to landfill or incineration.’

Podback will mean that the used coffee pods will be collected alongside household waste and other recycling outside from Brits’ homes. 

A full list of areas that the new scheme will be rolled out in has not yet been released, but it was last year revealed that Exeter City Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and South Derbyshire District Council, among others, had all entered into discussions. 

The initiative, called Podback, has been created by a a partnership between Nestle and Jacobs Douwe Egberts UK and has already received backing from Nespresso, Nescafe Dolce Gusto and Tassimo, all of whom manufacture coffee machines (stock image)

The initiative, called Podback, has been created by a a partnership between Nestle and Jacobs Douwe Egberts UK and has already received backing from Nespresso, Nescafe Dolce Gusto and Tassimo, all of whom manufacture coffee machines (stock image)

In areas which don’t sign up to the scheme, coffee-lovers will be able to send them for recycling at one of the 6,500 shops across the country which has Collect plus. 

Podback said these schemes would be rolled out later this month, with a full announcement on kerbside pick up soon.

Guillaume Chesneau, Nespresso managing director, commented: ‘As co-founders of the scheme, as well as pioneers of the minimal-waste portioned coffee system, we are excited to build on our strong existing recycling services already in place.

‘Our ambition is to create a powerful end-to-end recycling solution, available to all, and Podback demonstrates our commitment towards achieving this important goal.

‘We are working closely with manufacturers, retailers and local authorities and calling upon them to join us and ensure the scheme has maximum impact.’