Pret A Manger joins Podback recycling scheme

Pret A Manger has become the first UK food-to-go retailer to become a member of the Podback recycling scheme, helping customers to recycle their aluminium Pret at-home coffee pods.

In July 2021, Pret launched two aluminium coffee pod blends, Espresso and Classic, which are compatible with Nespresso coffee machines. 

They are available for purchase from Pret shops, Ocado, Sainsburys, Tesco and Amazon, and are now recyclable through the Podback programme.

Podback, created by Nestlé and Jacobs Douwe Egberts UK (JDE UK), is the UK’s first nationwide, not-for-profit service providing customers with several easy ways to recycle their coffee pods, whether they are aluminium or plastic. 

Through Podback, used aluminium pods are turned into ingots and used in the manufacture of new products – such as beverage cans – while the used coffee grounds go through anaerobic digestion to produce a combination of biogas and soil improver.

Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Podback, said: “Pret is the first food-to-go retailer to join Podback as a member. 

“Expanding the scheme to include more brands has been one of our priorities since launching last year, so we’re thrilled to have Pret on-board. 

“We welcome other retailers and brands to join to make it the scheme even more inclusive for consumers.”

Guy Meakin, UK Managing Director of Pret A Manger said: “We’re always looking for new ways to reduce our impact on the environment, whether through introducing coffee cup recycling stations in-shop or our 50p reusable cup discount. 

“Now that our coffee is increasingly enjoyed in homes around the country, we wanted to find a solution that would help our customers recycle their Pret coffee pods easily. We’re excited to join the Podback scheme to make this possible.”

Following the new partnership with Podback, customers can recycle Pret at-home coffee pods in two ways:

  • Collect+ delivered by Yodel: Customers can take their Podback recycling bags, filled with used coffee pods, to their nearest drop-off point. There are thousands of drop-off points in local stores across the UK. Initially, Pret customers can order recycling bags alongside their regular pod order via Ocado. Pret will make recycling bags available in its UK shops later this year. 
  • Kerbside collection: Residents of Cheltenham Borough Council, South Derbyshire District Council, Chichester District Council, Oxford City Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Exeter City Council and London Borough of Waltham Forest can have their used pods collected alongside other household waste and recycling – with the service expanding to new areas this year. Customers can check whether their area is eligible, how each council will run the collection service, and order recycling bags via podback.org

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