Wolverhampton Council gains Podback’s trust for aluminium and plastic waste recycling

Wolverhampton Council is the first local government body in the West Midlands to partner with Podback, a not-for-profit coffee pod recycling service that takes care of used aluminium and plastic coffee pods. This latest inter-city Podback scheme will aid the council’s goal of reducing waste, increasing the recycling rate and retrieving carbon waste to help balance climate disruptions.

The city has opened its arms to two household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) for Podback’s collection drive, where both plastic and aluminium can be stuffed to be recycled later, situated at Anchor Lane and Shaw Road.

Users can casually bring used pods to collection zones and accumulate them in special collectors placed by Podback.

If somehow a person is unable to reach one of the city’s recycling centres, he can register for a personal door collection service by visiting the collaborative website of the company and the council.

After being successfully registered, the residents will be supplied with Podback recycling bags alongside guideline copies with detailed instructions about the scheme and how to use it.

Inhabitants from flats can participate in the Podback Scheme by using their drop-off service.

Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet member for city environment and climate change, Councillor Steve Evans, exclaimed: “Many of our residents will enjoy a cup of coffee at home using their coffee machines and this new service will allow them to do something good for the environment every time they fill a mug.

“Podback is funding the service, so it is cost-neutral for us and an excellent way to improve our existing recycling options for residents. To further support our commitment to tackling climate change, the Podback recycling team will be delivering bags and collecting pods using an electric vehicle.”

“We all want to do the right thing and recycle as much as possible, and by working with Podback, we can offer simple and easy options for people to recycle their used coffee pods,” Evans concluded.

Adhering to the Podback scheme, the coffee pods will be transferred to specialised recycling units in the UK. There the extracted plastic and aluminium would be morphed into new items for the packaging, automobile parts and building components industry.

Coffee grounds will receive anaerobic digestion treatment in order to yield soil enhancers and renewable energy.

The recycling process utilises less energy than it is required to produce aluminium from raw material, naturally, saving resources and decreasing carbon emissions from products that are usually thrown away in landfills.

Podback’s executive director, Rick Hindley, commented: “Wolverhampton is the first local authority in the West Midlands to partner with Podback since we launched in 2021. This is the most ambitious scheme to date; both in terms of the services provided and the number of households we are targeting.”

“Together with Wolverhampton Council, our aim is to make it easier for consumers to recycle their pods at home. We’re excited to launch the service and to be helping the council increase the amount it recycles,” he added.

Brands already having incorporated the Podback scheme are as follows; Nescafe, Nespresso, Starbucks by Nescafe, Starbucks by Nespresso, Dolce Gusto, Tassimo, L’Or, CruKafe, Allpress Espresso, Artisan Coffee Co, Colonna Coffee and Café Palmieri by Jomad Coffee and Pret A Manger. If combined, these brands amount to the third quarter of the UK industrial sector.

Podback has the vision to elongate its programme bases to contain coffee pod brands using both plastic and aluminium pods in the UK.