Costa Coffee and Podback announce in-premises coffee pod recycling pilot
The coffee chain will offer recycling facilities for plastic and aluminium pods across 142 of its UK shops.
Costa Coffee and Podback have announced a five-month trial that offers in-store recycling points for coffee pods across 142 locations in the UK.
Through this trial, customers can pick up a free Podback recycling bag from participating Costa shops, fill them with used coffee pods, and then return them to the store. The coffee has also installed Podback recycling drop-off points in its outlets that are located within Tesco stores.
The location of all drop-off points will be added to WRAP’s Recycle Now Recycling Locator.
Commenting on the scheme, Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Podback, said: “This trial gives Podback customers the opportunity to drop off their used pods at local Costa Coffee stores, a response to customer feedback telling us people want a choice of ways to recycle that fit with their daily lives.
“We are excited to be working with Costa Coffee and Tesco to make this a reality in more than 140 locations across the country. We are sure Podback customers will welcome the new service, and hope that it is the first step to rolling out more drop-off locations throughout the UK.”
Approximately 800 million beverage pods are sold in the UK each year, with over 20 per cent of households owning a coffee pod machine.
What can be recycled?
Plastic and aluminium pods from any Podback member brands - including Costa Coffee pods for Nespresso, Tassimo, and NESCAFE Dolce Gusto machines - will be accepted during the trial.
Building on Costa’s in-house recycling scheme, aluminium pods will be recycled in Cheshire and plastic pods in Yorkshire. Recycled aluminium is then used by manufacturers of beverage cans and automotive components, and recycled plastic is sent to the packaging and building sector. The leftover coffee grounds are processed by anaerobic digestion facilities to produce biogas and soil improver.
Catherine David, Director Behaviour Change and Business Programmes WRAP, praised the initiative: “The trial with Costa Coffee is a fantastic way to normalise and simplify recycling coffee pods. Due to their multiple component materials, these pods must be sent to a specialist recycling facility. Now, customers can easily drop them off in any participating Costa Coffee store. Making recycling simple is key to success, and capturing trickier items like pods at scale is an important step forward.”
Liz Higgins, Head of Sustainability at Costa Coffee, added: “We are always looking for new ways to make it easier for our customers to recycle our packaging. Through this trial with Podback, in-store drop-off points will offer coffee pod users the chance to conveniently recycle their pods with us – whether they are Costa branded or not.
“The new front-of-house recycling units will be supported by increased messaging in store, which we hope will act as a reminder to customers when visiting our participating stores. The trial will allow us to gather valuable customer feedback and insights, which we will use to enhance our future recycling solutions for pods, cups, and other packaging materials.”
