That Coffee Week and Recycling Week land during the same week this year is, to me, more than just a coincidence – it’s a perfect blend. Coffee and recycling are what Podback is all about, showing how sustainability and coffee culture can go hand-in-hand. And today, sustainability is a hot topic in the coffee world, with brands taking steps to improve their environmental impact and consumers seeking out options with strong credentials in this area.
That’s why Podback’s founding brands came together in 2020 to create the programme, which we’re proud to say is the UK's first-ever cross-industry coffee pod recycling scheme. Though the sector had made strides in pod recycling before Podback, there was no unified solution, and consumers were confused. Creating a single scheme for both aluminium and plastic pods enables us to provide coffee lovers across the UK with simple and convenient ways to recycle their pods, helping reduce waste on a national scale.
Fast forward four years, and the scheme has undergone significant growth and has evolved in the process. What started as a service for recycling five pod brands has now grown to include over 30 brands who are supporting our mission to ensure every coffee pod enjoyed, is recycled. Put another way, the scale and breadth of the scheme today means that 80% of UK coffee pod customers can now recycle their pods through Podback – that’s real progress.
This year has been pivotal, and as we go into the final quarter, I can report that the scheme is going from strength to strength. In 2024 alone, we’ve already welcomed six more brands including Gimoka and independent roasters Dark Arts Coffee, Purple Coffee, Newground, Varo and Perfectly Imperfect Coffee, with more set to come onboard before the end of the year. So Podback is becoming established as the category-wide solution for coffee pod recycling.
As Podback’s membership has grown, we’ve also made changes to how customers can recycle their pods; taking on consumer feedback to offer more ways to recycle and make the process more convenient. Our in-store trial with Morrisons has developed into a national roll-out across their 400+ supermarkets, which gets underway within weeks; and a new trial with Costa Coffee, launched last month, is getting positive and enthusiastic feedback from customers. Thanks to the support of these high street names, customers can now recycle their pods in-store, as part of their everyday grocery shop or coffee stop, at no extra hassle. Expanding our drop-off network is a key focus for us as we look ahead to next year. Watch this space!
We have also extended our partnerships with local authorities, following successful trials in 2023. By introducing pod drop-off points at Household Waste and Recycling Centres, we have been able to significantly increase the coverage of Podback collections. As I write, 5.7 million households have access to Podback as part of their local authority’s waste and recycling service – but this coverage grows every month! With positive conversations ongoing with many more councils about launching the service in their local area, we will continue to grow this network into 2025.
Back in May, Starbucks, one of the world’s most well-known coffee brands, also started offering Podback bags to customers in their UK sites. While Starbucks’ At Home was one of Podback’s founder brands, the new collaboration means that customers can pick up Podback bags from baristas in any of their 1,250 UK coffee shops to fill up at home, making it even easier for them to recycle their used pods.
So, as Podback and our members and partners mark both UK Coffee Week and Recycling Week, it’s important to reflect on the achievements of the past year, and look forward to more progress ahead. I’m proud of what the Podback team has achieved, but there’s much more to do and we’re excited to be playing a role in driving the growing momentum of the service. As ever, I continue the call for councils, brands, and retailers to join get involved with Podback. Together, we can make sure that every coffee pod enjoyed in the UK is recycled.