Pret A Manger accepts the Podback scheme for seamless recycling of aluminium coffee pods into beverage cans

Podback, a Nestle and Jacobs Douwe Egberts joint venture in the U.K. is the first cross-industry alliance for the coffee consuming sector in the west. The Podback scheme was launched in 2021 and allows coffee pods from brands including Nespresso, Nescafé, and Tassimo to be recycled when customers return them via drop-off or kerbside collection, depending on location and availability. Pods are airtight containers of coffee equivalent to tea bags which are very important to the coffee machine. Warm water is forced with extreme pressure down the pod to brew the steaming hot coffee each time the release button is pressed.

With the emergence of modernisation, human beings can barely afford some dedicated amount of time for a meal. To make the food search easy, companies have come up with ideas such as food on the go which is merely a type of meal that can be easily availed at any location that too in a very negligible amount of time. Moreover, the motive behind everything is sustenance and recyclability thus Pret A Manger is the first food-to-go retailer in the UK to sign up for the Podback scheme, as reported by both companies. The scheme will encourage consumers to recycle the two aluminium at-home coffee pod blends, Espresso and Classic, by the retailer which are compatible with Nespresso coffee machines and available for purchase from Pret shops, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Amazon.

Sponsored by Yodel, the Podback scheme will initiate the installation of collection bags at Collect+ points in the local stores across the UK where consumers would be able to drop off their Pret’s at-home coffee pods. Pret customers may order recycling bags along with their intended coffee pods via Ocado, while Collect+ recycling bags will shortly be available in Pret stores later this year.

The Collect+ bags have two colour variants, one for aluminium pods and another for plastic pods plus they are leak-proof so that the residual liquid doesn’t spill. Collect+ bags are also available for free in the Morrison market.

In addition, a kerbside collection of Pret’s at-home coffee pods via Podback is offered by Cheltenham Borough Council, South Derbyshire District Council, Chichester District Council, Oxford City Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Exeter City Council and the London Borough of Waltham Forest.

At places where Kerbside recycling is available, consumers will have to register for a different type of collection bag which means they can have their used pods collected alongside other household waste and recyclable materials. The company claims to expand its services to newer areas in 2022.

Podback reports that the post-consumer aluminium pods are recycled and then turned into ingots for the subsequent production of beverage cans. There is a boon to the story as the company claims, it doesn’t need to remove any coffee from the pods as, during the recycling process, coffee grounds go through anaerobic digestion to produce a combination of biogas and soil improver which is essential to the process.

Due to their contact with liquids and labels as part of the collection process, both Collect+ and kerbside recycling bags are not restored by Podback. At this moment, these bags once recovered from the waste are being used to create energy yet Podback is continuously in search of better ways to recycle the collected products. Somewhere each company is moving towards sustainability and a better, greener future. Recycling is the best way to reduce the carbon footprint left by the production facilities. The entire process of extracting alumina from bauxite and then further smelting the powder to produce aluminium might seem simple at one glance but is a very energy extensive process. Moreover, the harmful greenhouse gases emitted during the entire process can be curbed down if we transfer to easier and more efficient methods such as recycling.

Rick Hindley, the Executive Director of Podback, comments: “Pret is the first food-to-go retailer to join Podback as a member.”

“Expanding the scheme to include more brands has been one of our priorities since launching last year, so we’re thrilled to have Pret on board. We welcome other retailers and brands to join to make the scheme even more inclusive for consumers.”

Guy Meakin, the UK Managing Director of Pret A Manger, adds: “We’re always looking for new ways to reduce our impact on the environment, whether through introducing coffee cup recycling stations in-shop or our 50p reusable cup discount.

“Now that our coffee is increasingly enjoyed in homes around the country, we wanted to find a solution that would help our customers recycle their Pret coffee pods easily. We’re excited to join the Podback scheme to make this possible.”