ALDI WILL BE THE FIRST SUPERMARKET TO JOIN THE PODBACK RECYCLING SCHEME.
Customers will be able to recycle their used coffee, tea, and hot chocolate pods with the assistance of Aldi, which will soon become the first supermarket to participate in the podback recycling scheme.
As part of its membership, the supermarket will be the first in the industry to include its own-label pods in the Podback scheme. Additionally, as part of its membership, the supermarket will assist in the promotion of the free recycling service to customers in over 980 stores across the nation.
Customers of Aldi will soon be able to visit the Podback website, where they will have the option to either place an order for recycling bags, which they can then fill and bring to one of the 6,500 Collect+ drop-off points, or register for curbside collections if they live in a local authority area that is participating in the program.
The coffee pod recycling service known as Podback was the first of its kind to be established in the UK when it began operations last year. Nestle and Jacobs Douwe Egberts UK were the original founders of the organization, and since then, it has expanded its membership to include 16 other brands operating in the coffee industry.
Recycled pods that have been sent in through Podback are reprocessed in the UK. Recycled aluminum pods are put to use in the production of beverage cans and components for automobiles, while recycled plastic coffee pods are transformed into products such as furniture, industrial packaging, and building materials. The spent coffee grounds are put through a process called anaerobic digestion, which results in the production of biogas and an additive that makes the soil more fertile.
Own-brand coffee pods are one of Aldi’s most successful product lines, and the retailer also offers Specialbuys on name-brand alternatives. Customers who utilize the Podback service have the opportunity to contribute to the recycling of up to 268 metric tons of plastic and 20 metric tons of aluminum from Aldi’s own-brand coffee pods on an annual basis.
“We’re pleased to be joining Podback on this journey, especially as the first supermarket member,” said Richard Gorman, who is in charge of plastics and packaging at Aldi.
“It’s important to us that we help customers do the right thing once our hot drink pods have been used, and we’re looking forward to seeing how our partnership with Podback develops,” said the company.
“We are delighted to welcome Aldi as the first supermarket brand member of Podback,” Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Podback, said. This represents a significant turning point for the programme, and we are excited to collaborate with Aldi to promote our service to the customers of their store. We are hopeful that other retailers will follow Aldi’s example and provide the option for customers who purchase their own-brand pods to recycle them through Podback.

Dewsbury – New store opening. 8/Sept/22
Store Manager – Chris Savage.
Team GB Paralympic Athlete – Grace Clough.
School – Eastborough Junior, Infant & Nursery School.
© Victor De Jesus/UNP