Residents can recycle both aluminium and plastic coffee pods at our household waste recycling centres.
Billions of coffee, tea and hot chocolate pods are used globally with 800 million being sold in the UK alone last year. The technology is available to recycle them and help to cut waste. We have special containers at our recycling centres to collect them. There are separate containers for plastic and aluminium pods as they are recycled in different ways by Podback a not-for-profit recycling service, created and funded by the UK’s leading coffee pod systems.
All the pods collected by Podback are recycled in the UK. They are shredded to remove the coffee, then the plastic and aluminium are used to create 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.
When residents take their used coffee, tea and hot chocolate pods to their local recycling centres they should be emptied loose into the appropriate aluminium or plastic Podback container. The Podback containers are clearly signed. Bags and other packaging should not be included. The service is available at 8 of the 9 recycling centres – not Waterswallows (Buxton) as this is operated by a different contractor.
Find out more about recycling in Derbyshire and how Derbyshire residents can register to continue to use the county’s nine recycling centres