Morrisons launches partnership with Podback

Today (2 March), Morrisons has announced its partnership with Podback to deliver an in-store coffee pod recycling scheme, a first for UK supermarkets.

Once launched, customers will be able to collect free ‘Podback Collect+’ recycling bags from Morrisons’ customer service desks, to then fill the bags with used coffee pods at home and take them to one of Podback’s 6,5000 Collect+ drop off points, provided by Yodel.

Once collected, pods will be reformed into new products – aluminium pods will be used to create beverage cans, for example, and plastic pods will be converted into furniture items. Recycled coffee grounds will also be utilised, being sent for anaerobic digestion to produce biogas and soil improver.

The scheme aims to tackle the increasing use of at-home coffee pods, owing to the rise in working from home caused by the coronavirus pandemic – sales of coffee pods have increased by 32 per cent from pre-pandemic levels, with an estimated 1.2 billion pods being bought in the UK in 2021.

Rick Hindley, Executive Director at Podback, said: “Podback provides consumers all over the UK with an easy way to recycle their coffee pods, no matter what brand they are buying. Morrisons is the first supermarket to become a supporter of the Podback scheme, as well as provide bags in store. This is a great step forward and progress towards ensuring recycling coffee pods becomes second nature.

“Our goal is to ensure every pod enjoyed is recycled and working with retailers, like Morrisons, is crucial to ensuring the scheme is convenient and simple. We welcome other retailers to join to make it even easier for consumers to recycle pods in the future.”

Morrisons’ Environmental Packaging Manager, Lorraine Wheeler, added: “Many of our customers want to brew fresh coffee at home using a coffee pod. But to date, coffee pod recycling has been confusing for consumers, with several different schemes by multiple brands. Podback offers an easy, simple scheme for all of our customers.”

The launch follows a series of schemes launched by Podback throughout the UK. In April 2021, the company partnered with Jacobs Douwe Egberts to roll out its coffee pod recycling scheme with Cheltenham Borough Council, South Derbyshire District Council, and Chichester District Council. This came months before similar programmes launched in Oxford, the following August, and in Ipswich, in January 2022.