A New Life for Coffee Grounds
Coffee Grounds Recycled
Energy Generated
Potential Coffee Pod Machines Powered
High-end coffee has become incredibly popular worldwide, often coming with a hefty price tag. However, affordable coffee pod machines now allow users to enjoy their favourite premium brews at home in seconds. But as with all luxuries, there's a downside—waste. The growing number of discarded coffee pods highlights the need for a responsible disposal solution.
Client: Podback – The UK’s coffee pod recycling service
Scope:
Podback collects and recycles plastic and aluminium coffee pods in the UK, to cut down waste and give the materials a new life. The plastic coffee pods that Podback receives, are sent to a specialist plastic recycling facility where the pods are shredded to remove the coffee. This facility does not recycle food waste, and therefore Podback needed a local solution for recycling the used coffee grounds.
Solution:
Our Changing Waste and R100 Energy sites are just six miles from the plastic recycling facility and transform food waste into renewable energy using the process of anaerobic digestion. This was the perfect sustainable solution for Podback, ensuring that the coffee doesn’t travel further than needed and that it is recycled effectively.
Partnership:
Podback partnered with BioteCH4 to recycle its used coffee grounds from plastic pods. All this waste is transported the short distance from the plastic recycling facility and tipped straight into the reception hall at our Changing Waste site. The coffee grounds are processed here, before being pumped into our R100 Energy anaerobic digestion process, which is just next door.
Outcome:
We work with the plastic recycling facility to manage the waste so Podback confidently knows that both components of their coffee pods are being recycled responsibly and sustainably, and Podback can work on what it does best, collecting pods and making coffee pod recycling simpler for coffee lovers across the UK!
In 2023, our Changing Waste site processed 499 tonnes of coffee waste from Podback, which equates to 298MWh of energy generated. This could power over 4,500 coffee pod machines a year!*
*Based on the typical yearly energy usage of 66kWh as reported by the Office of Sustainability
Customer Testimonial
Our Services
Within BioteCH4 we offer services which can take the stress out of waste management, whether that be a waste collection service or the removal of oil-based waste. We will deal with all your recycling needs from either one of our AD plants across the UK, we like to think of ourselves as a one-stop shop for the recycling of a huge variety of food waste and our experienced team will make working with us easy.
