In this blog, Partnerships Development Manager at Podback, Will French reflects on his first three months in the role.
Will joined Podback in March 2022 after a decade at environmental consultancy Resource Futures, where he led their local authority waste and recycling collections work. Podback’s partnerships team also includes Paddy Pope, who joined in April, bringing extensive experience in implementing local authority collection service changes.
Three months after joining Podback my first thought is,
“that’s gone quickly!”
There has been a lot to learn about a scheme that was launched a year ago, but in development for much longer. The investment in its development highlights the commitment of the founder members, Nespresso, NESCAFE Dolce Gusto and Tassimo, to create a recycling solution for coffee pods. Equally impressive is the strive for cross-industry collaboration with others in the sector including brands1 retailers2 and reprocessors.
To make recycling pods as easy as possible, Podback is committed to enable consumers to have them collected at the kerbside. This means residents simply have to leave their filled Podback recycling bags alongside their household waste to be collected. All pods will then be processed and recycled in the UK3. Podback currently has seven local authorities participating in the scheme4, with more coming on-stream in the coming months.
Since joining Podback, Paddy and I have been visiting our launched local authority partners. What has struck me is their commitment to continually work with us to maximise the participation and impact of the service. In addition to the launch communications, funded by Podback, we work with our local authority partners to deliver additional communications once the service is embedded. Reaching residents through a range of channels, including social media, all helps to make a success of the scheme.
From an operational perspective, I’ve observed the simplicity of adding pod collections to existing collection services: From adding cages to vehicles to providing storage containers. Once collected, Podback manages all onward logistics of the pods to the reprocessors.
It’s also been fantastic to start attending in person events again: After two years of virtual meetings and conferences, I’ve concluded (as others I’m sure have) that you can’t replicate the opportunities they provide to network and make those new connections over a cup of coffee. We recently attended LARAC Scotland and the London Conference, which gave us an opportunity to talk directly with local authorities. The interest in Podback has been really encouraging.
At a time when local authority budgets are restricted, the opportunity to add materials for their residents to recycle, without additional cost burden, is appealing. Podback works with each local authority to cover the capital and operational cost associated with collecting pods. With the UK Government’s Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for packaging facing implementation delays, joining Podback also offers local authorities an opportunity to see the benefits of proactively adopting EPR schemes.
Through Podback, used aluminium pods are used in the manufacture of new products - such as beverage cans and car components. The plastic pods are used in everything from garden furniture to building materials. The used coffee grounds go through anaerobic digestion to produce a combination of biogas and soil improver. I recently had the opportunity to visit the aluminium reprocessor to see the process in action. It’s an impressive sight to see the pods turned into ingots here in the UK, knowing they will be used to create new products within a matter of weeks.
Our partnership with local authorities is at an early stage, but we’re excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. Our ambition is to have kerbside collections available in half of UK local authorities in the next three years. If you would be interested in learning more about the scheme in general or wish to start a conversation about partnership, you can get in touch with me at contact@podback.org and Paddy and I are both on LinkedIn.
Podback will be attending LARAC Wales and the LARAC Conference in October, and follow us on LinkedIn @podbackUK to get our latest news.
