Many happy returns: Podback shows how to build a specialist recycling system

The UK ranks among the largest coffee-consuming markets in Europe, and in recent years, the convenience of single-serve coffee pods has transformed how people brew their coffee at home. According to a 2018 Allegra report, an estimated 12.6 million UK households own a pod coffee machine - a number that has continued to grow since the pandemic.

Coffee pod systems now account for 48.7 per cent of all domestic coffee machine sales in the UK, according to the Coffee at Home UK Report 2023, outpacing espresso and filter machines.

However, this rapid growth brings with it environmental challenges, as coffee pods are mixed material packaging, and can be made from a blend of tightly bonded plastic, aluminium, as well as the resulting coffee ground residues.

This is difficult to recycle through regular waste management systems. And although some manufacturers offer recycling schemes, these typically require consumers to return the used pods to the brand.

Despite the rise in more environmentally-conscious alternatives like compostable or reusable pods, the majority of households still use hard-to-recycle capsules. As the market continues to expand, finding solutions to the environmental impact of coffee pods is a growing issue given the looming requirement for extended producer responsibility.

Bring it Back

In response to the environmental challenges, Podback was launched in 2021 as the UK’s first nationwide recycling initiative dedicated to coffee pod waste. Established by Nestlé and Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), Podback has tied in well-known brands, including Nespresso, Tassimo, Starbucks, and L'OR, to provide accessible recycling options for coffee pod users ‘by utilising the existing infrastructure that's in place’.

Podback offers multiple recycling options. Consumers can participate in kerbside collection programs (where available), use drop-off points at participating retailers and coffee shops, at their local Household Waste and Recycling Centre, or return used pods via a free courier service.

Partnerships with local councils and retailers have been crucial in making coffee pod recycling more accessible. In 2022, Podback partnered with Morrisons to offer nationwide distribution of Podback bags, and in 2023 ran a trial offering in-store drop-off points for used pods.  Following the success of the trial, it announced a nationwide roll-out of dedicated coffee pod collection points in more than 400 of its stores.

This initiative has received encouraging feedback from customers. “We got some really good engagement. People were actually voluntarily emailing our customer services saying, 'Please don't take this service away. We love it," says Diana Caldwell, Podback’s Head of Marketing and Communications.

Building on this success, Morrisons has designed and will be installing modular recycling points featuring compartments for a range of waste materials including coffee pods, as well as flexible plastics, vapes, batteries, and toner cartridges. Commenting on the new bins, Hindley said: “They wanted to freshen up the recycling offer across their estate, so while coffee pods is a big part of it, it's part of an overall introduction of a new approach to recycling in stores, which will make an impact.”

Meanwhile, Podback’s partnerships with local authorities has allowed it to introduce coffee pod recycling at more than 100 Household Waste and Recycling Centres, meaning 4.1 million households now have access to pod recycling as part of their local authority’s waste and recycling service. By the end of the year, coverage will have reached 35 per cent of households across the UK.

Podback has also expanded its reach in 2024 by offering more options for coffee pod users to recycle their pods through coffee shops. A trial is underway with Costa Coffee, providing a bag drop-off service at 142 stores across the UK. Podback has also worked with Starbucks Coffee Company to offer customers the option to pick up Podback’s free drop-off recycling bags across all of its 1,250 UK coffee shops. These collaborations address the challenges of reaching areas where kerbside collections are unavailable.

Coffee Pod Recycling

Coffee pod recycling requires specialised facilities due to the combination of materials that make them challenging for traditional recycling streams to effectively process.

At these plants, the coffee grounds are separated from the pod materials by shredding. The grounds are either composted or processed along with other food wastes, creating biogas and soil improver for agriculture. The remaining materials—plastic and aluminium—are sent through different recycling streams. Plastic is given a new lease of life, repurposed as industrial packaging, for example supermarket tote bags, or building materials – while the aluminium pods are shredded and remelted by Tandom Metallurgical Group in Congleton.

Under the Podback scheme, plastics are processed by Allensway Recycling, East Yorkshire and Meplas Limited, East Yorkshire. Coffee grounds by BioteCH4 also East Yorkshire. Other brands, such as Nespresso, also offer a home pick up recycling service to customers, in addition to Podback, and returns via their boutiques.

While some companies are developing compostable or biodegradable pods, these options still require industrial composting processes, making them unsuitable for regular household compost bins.

Despite promotion of the availability of recycling options through coffee pods producers, many consumers remain unaware of the services or find the process inconvenient. As a result, a significant number of coffee pods currently still end up in landfill or incinerators.

Commenting on the current recycling level for pods, Rick Hindley said: “It’s still very early on, but we’re pleased with the uptake and participation in the scheme so far. Podback members now represent over 80 per cent of the UK coffee pod market and overall recycling volumes have increased by 5 per cent from 2022 to 2023, with projected growth of 33 per cent in 2024 compared to 2023. Our experience through partnerships with retailers like Morrisons tells us that if we continue to roll out across more supermarkets and at the same time continue with expanding options for drop-off, that rate is going to accelerate quite quickly.”

Expanding the reach of recycling initiatives

As Podback continues to expand, the focus is on working with others – whether that’s coffee pod brands, retailers or local authorities – to provide people with more opportunities to recycle their pods.

Hindley outlined their goal to be present in 30 per cent of household waste recycling centres by the end of the year, though logistical challenges remain. The integration of Podback into the UK's existing recycling infrastructure requires adapting to regional differences in waste management systems, as currently, coffee pods are not collected, processed, and recycled consistently as part of a national waste and recycling system.

Hindley also suggested that European recycling models, such as those in Belgium, France, and Germany - where coffee pods can be added to dry mixed recycling - could offer solutions for the UK: “We've been looking at those types of systems and how they are recovering them, as well as keeping a close eye on developments in the UK, in relation to the EPR system and Simpler Recycling and whether there will be changes to MRFs, for example, which would allow pods to be recovered from mixed packaging.”

As the demand for coffee pods grows, finding scalable, convenient, and more environmentally friendly recycling solutions remains a priority for both consumers and the coffee industry. Podback's multi-pronged approach is offering a strategy to address the environmental impact of single-serve coffee pods.