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Recycle your coffee pods with Podback

Podback is a not-for-profit coffee pod recycling service. Created in partnership with the biggest names in coffee pod systems, Nespresso, NESCAFE Dolce Gusto and Tassimo, to give people who enjoy the quality and taste of coffee pods simple and easy ways to recycle them.

Ipswich Borough Council is working with Podback to provide this pioneering new service, enabling you to recycle your coffee pods every week as part of your normal kerbside waste and recycling collections. Look out for leaflets coming through your door from 10 January 2022.

How to get started

It’s easy to get involved – simply follow the steps below.

Sign up

Get your bags

Podback will send you two rolls of bags, plus a caddy if you use NESCAFE Dolce Gusto coffee pods, for recycling your aluminium OR plastic coffee pods along with an instructional leaflet.

Start recycling your pods

Once you have your bags, simply follow the instructions and put them out for kerbside collection with your other waste and recycling containers by 6am on your normal collection day.

We will start collecting coffee pods every week from 24 January using both our household waste and recycling vehicles - this means you can put your coffee pods out on a blue or a black bin week.

Check your collection day

FAQs

What types of coffee pods can be recycled?

Plastic and aluminium pods can be recycled using separate collection bags provided by Podback.

Currently the following brands are supporting the scheme: Nespresso, Nescafé Dolce Gusto, Starbucks by Nespresso, Starbucks by Nescafé Dolce Gusto, Tassimo, L’OR and Cru Kafe. Together these brands represent over three quarters of the UK market. 

The ambition is to expand the programme to include all coffee pod brands that use plastic or aluminium pods in the UK.

What happens to the pods once collected?

After collection, the coffee pods are taken to a specialist reprocessing plant in the UK to separate the packaging from the used coffee grounds. The plastic and aluminium will be transformed into new products such as beverage cans or plastic garden furniture. The coffee grounds are used to create soil improver and renewable energy.

More information about the Podback scheme can be found on our frequently asked questions page.