In January 2023 Horsham District Council partnered with Podback to launch a free collection service for residents to recycle their used coffee pods from home. The service has proved to be a great success with over half a million pods collected and recycled in the first six months of operation!
Podback is a nationwide, not-for-profit coffee pod recycling service that collects and recycles plastic and aluminium drinks pods. Items collected include pods for coffee, tea, milk and hot chocolate pods. Residents just need to order their free rolls of bags, book a collection and then leave their filled bags out for our team to collect.
Horsham District has the highest recycling rate in West Sussex and thanks to our climate conscious residents making sure these typically difficult to recycle pods get reused, this trend is sure to continue.
What happens to the pods
The collected coffee pods are taken to specialist aluminium and plastics reprocessing plants in the UK. The coffee grounds are removed, and the plastic and aluminium are then transformed into new products, including drink cans, car components or plastic garden furniture and building products. The coffee grounds are used to create soil improver and renewable energy (biogas). Find out more by watching Podback's video
You can find out more about the Podback scheme, including information on booking a collection, on our Podback webpage.