Coffee pods, once they have been used by consumers at home, can be left out by residents for collection. ODS, working on behalf of Oxford City Council, collects these pods along with other household recycling and waste. The collected pods are then processed by Podback for recycling.

This month marks three years since we began our collaboration with Podback, the not-for-profit pod recycling service. Since then, nearly 3,500 households have signed up to use the service. Together, their efforts have helped to remove almost 28 tonnes of materials from the waste stream.

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“It’s easy for residents to join this scheme. Simply register with Podback.org and request their free Podback bags. You can then put them out on top of your green or blue bin lid on collection day. Tea and hot chocolate pods are also accepted. Depending on whether you use aluminium or plastic pods, you’ll receive white or green bags, so different materials to be separated to make recycling easier.

“The last three years has proved Oxford residents are enthusiastic about recycling their coffee pods. I want to encourage anyone who hasn’t tried this yet to sign up so we can make sure the scheme continues to grow.”
Councillor Nigel Chapman, Cabinet Member for Citizen Focused Services and Council Companies

“We are delighted that residents have already recycled over 2.3 million coffee pods, saving valuable resources. This milestone demonstrates how much people value this service. Funded by Podback, the service is cost-neutral and an excellent way for us to enhance our service to residents.”
Michelle Bradbury, ODS Recycling and Waste Team Leader

“Recycling over 2.3 million pods is an impressive milestone for Oxford to have reached, and we’re delighted that the Podback service has been so well-received and well-supported by residents across the city. With over 80% of coffee pod brands sold in the UK now included in the Podback service, we hope more residents will start saving their pods for recycling and that you’ll soon be marking another collection milestone!”
Podback’s Executive Director Rick Hindley

Once collected, the coffee pods are sent to specialist recycling plants within the UK. The pods are shredded to remove the coffee, and the plastic and aluminium are transformed into new products, including packaging, car components and building products. The coffee grounds are treated by anaerobic digestion to create renewable energy (biogas) and soil improver.

Aluminium pods are reprocessed in Cheshire. Plastic pods are reprocessed by in East Yorkshire.

The coffee grounds are processed by local anaerobic digestion facilities which produces renewable energy (biogas) and soil improver.

To find out more about Podback residents can visit the Podback coffee pod recycling webpage.