Bristol brews up coffee pod recycling

Your coffee addiction is now a bit more environmentally sustainable – though sadly not economically – as Bristol Waste Company’s Household Reuse and Recycling Centres have started recycling coffee pods.

Podback, the UK’s coffee pod recycling scheme, has installed drop-off points at all three of Bristol Waste Company’s Household Reuse and Recycling Centres, making it easier for people to recycle their used aluminium and plastic coffee pods.

This will save valuable resources from going to waste and will help boost the city’s recycling efforts.

Your coffee indulgence has now become a little more guilt-free – photo: Hannah Massoudi

This partnership between Podback and Bristol Waste Company provides convenient drop-off points for residents to deposit their used coffee pods in the three recycling centres, located across the city at St Philip’s, Hartcliffe Way and Avonmouth.

The introduction of dedicated Podback drop-off containers at the recycling centres offers a more accessible solution for a wider range of residents.

Residents are asked to save their pods at home, using any bag or container and keeping aluminium and plastic pods separate. When ready to recycle the pods can be tipped into the relevant Podback container at their local reuse and recycling centre.

Podback executive director Rick Hindley says: “It’s great to be able to partner with Bristol Waste Company to expand the Podback service to Bristol and to make coffee pod recycling more accessible for people in Bristol.

“Bristol is a city committed to sustainability, and this collaboration will empower residents to easily recycle their drinks pods, saving them from going to waste and ensuring valuable materials can be recycled and given a new life.

“We hope this initiative will serve as an inspiration for other cities across the UK to make improvements to their recycling infrastructure.”

Bristol Waste is leading the way with trials such as the year-long Pura NappiCycle trial that started in July 2024 – photo: Hannah Massoudi

Sarah Burns, sustainability and engagement manager for Bristol Waste, said: “We want recycling to be the norm. Anything people can’t reduce or reuse, we want it to be as easy and possible for them to recycle.

“By giving people in Bristol the opportunity to recycle coffee pods, it will help reduce the impact on the planet, tackling the climate crisis and protecting our environment. It will also help get as much as possible out of the city’s black general waste wheelie bins!”

Councillor Martin Fodor said: “Bristol has a reputation of doing what’s right for the planet. We’ve held the top spot for recycling rates amongst English core cities for eight years in a row.

“Lots of our residents enjoy a morning coffee from a coffee pod machine. Now we have the Podback recycling scheme at all three of Bristol’s recycling centres, Bristolians can bring their used coffee pods along when they next visit.

This is yet another product that people here can recycle, helping the planet and the city.”

The introduction of Podback at Bristol’s recycling centres is expected to significantly reduce the amount of coffee pod waste ending up in the general waste wheelie bins across the city, which is expensive for the city to dispose of and is damaging to the planet.

Both aluminium and plastic pods will be recycled in the UK.

The pods are first shredded to remove the coffee.

Then, the coffee grounds are sent for anaerobic digestion, a process that creates renewable energy (biogas) and soil improver.

Plastic pods are recycled in East Yorkshire, where they are sent on to become new plastic products like garden furniture or building materials.

Aluminium pods are recycled in Cheshire, where they are melted down and used in the manufacture of drinks cans to car parts.

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Key benefits of Podback at Bristol’s Reuse and Recycling Centres:

• Increased convenience: people can now easily drop off their used coffee pods alongside their other recycling at any of Bristol Waste’s Household Reuse and Recycling Centres for free
• Reduced environmental impact: Diverting coffee pods from going in with general waste saves valuable resources and reduces the need for virgin materials
• Boosted recycling rates: This initiative will contribute to the city’s overall recycling targets, helping Bristol to move closer to the city’s ambitious target of a 65 per cent recycling rate by 2035
• Simplified process: Dedicated Podback containers will be clearly marked at each recycling centre. The pods can be recycled with the coffee still in them, as this also gets recycled. All three sites can be visited by car or by bike, and the Hartcliffe Way recycling centre is also open to pedestrians
• Inspiration for other cities: Bristol is leading the way in providing accessible coffee pod
  recycling, and is encouraging other parts of the UK to follow suit

Podback accepts over 80 per cent of all aluminium and plastic pod brands sold in the UK, this includes coffee, tea, milk and hot chocolate pods.

A full list of participating brands and further information is on the Podback website.

Bristol residents can start using the Podback drop-off service at their local Household Reuse
and Recycling Centre from Wednesday.

All photos: Hannah Massoudi

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