COFFEE pods are to be included in East Ayrshire Council’s household recycling service in what the local authority said is a first for Scotland.
The initiative comes as part of a partnership between the council and not-for-profit coffee pod recycling service, Podback.
Once registered to the Podback website, residents will be sent a free six months’ supply of Podback recycling bags along with instructions on how to use the service.
Collections will start in the area from October 16 and be part of the normal weekly kerbside recycling service. Residents just need to leave their bags of pods on the lid of their recycling trolley by 6:30am on their normal collection day.
Once collected, the coffee pods will be sent to specialist recycling plants in the UK. The pods are shredded to remove the coffee, then the plastic and aluminium used to create new products – including packaging, car components, and building products. The coffee grounds will be treated by anaerobic digestion to create renewable energy and soil improver.
Councillor Jim McMahon, cabinet spokesperson for housing, transport, and communities said, “We are really excited about being the first local authority in Scotland to introduce coffee pod recycling to our existing kerbside recycling collection. This scheme makes it easy and convenient for residents to participate at home, allowing coffee pod users, like myself, to enjoy their coffee knowing the pods won’t be going to waste. This scheme also shows our ambition to increase recycling rates locally and provide the very best service to our communities at the kerbside.”
Podback executive director, Rick Hindley, added, “We’re delighted to be launching our first Podback service in Scotland. East Ayrshire is leading the way for coffee pod recycling and hopefully can encourage more Scottish authorities to sign up.
“Recycling with Podback means tonnes of used pods will be removed from the waste stream, and the materials will be recycled in the UK.”
