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In August 2024, a new coffee pod recycling service was launched across 19 Household Waste Recycling Centres in North Yorkshire, including two in the City of York. Funded by Podback and managed by Yorwaste on behalf of North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council, the service provides residents with a simple and convenient way to recycle their used coffee pods.
In its first year, the scheme has offered aluminium and plastic pod recycling to over 390,000 households. More than 54 tonnes of used pods — equivalent to around 3 million individual pods — have already been collected and recycled. This partnership shows the positive impact that local collaboration can have in making pod recycling easier and more accessible.
How it worked
Podback provided pallet-boxes and instructional signage for each site and organised regular collections and onward logistics of material to its UK-based reprocessors. Podback worked with the North Yorks communications team providing marketing support to launch and promote the new service to residents. Podback provided information on the tonnage and destination of the pods with WasteDataFlow, so pod collections contribute to local authority recycling data.
The Results
The first six months of the trial saw 23 tonnes of pods saved for recycling, and by August 2025, 12 months after launch, this had risen to 54 tonnes, equivalent to 3.5 million pods.
Local authority perspective
Kerry Green, Waste Contracts and Compliance Manager for North Yorkshire Council says: "Since launching coffee pod collections in August 2024, over 54 tonnes of pods have been recycled across York and North Yorkshire’s household waste recycling centres. That’s the equivalent of more than 3 million pods—a remarkable achievement that highlights the power of small, everyday actions to create significant environmental impact.
We’re proud to support the Podback initiative, which transforms used pods into valuable resources like renewable energy and soil improver. This success is a testament to the commitment of our residents, and we thank them for embracing the scheme so enthusiastically.
We encourage other councils to consider partnering with Podback. The containers are compact, easy to manage, and the environmental benefits and convenience to residents are a huge benefit."
Summary
Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) are key locations for residents to recycle a wide range of household materials, including items that are often considered harder to recycle.
The introduction of Podback’s service at 19 HWRCs across City of York and North Yorkshire councils has helped shape the continued development of our national drop-off network. These sites provide residents with a simple and convenient way to recycle their used coffee pods, supporting responsible waste management at a local level.
With fully-funded support covering signage, logistics and data reporting, the HWRC solution is proving to be an attractive option for local authorities. More than 268 HWRCs across the UK are now part of the Podback network, and the service is on track to reach 50% UK household coverage by the end of 2025.