Podcycle

What is Podcycle?

Podcycle is a new product stewardship scheme being established by Planet Ark in collaboration with scheme partners Nespresso and Woolworths, funded by the Australian government's National Product Stewardship Investment Fund.

The objectives of the scheme are to establish a national scheme for all Australians that collects and recycles all types and brands of coffee pods and is accredited as a voluntary scheme by the Australian Government.

The scheme is set for launch in 2023.

See the full length video here.

Why recycle coffee pods?

Australia is a nation of coffee lovers and people are increasingly embracing the convenience of coffee pods. On average, Australians consume 3 million coffee pods daily, with only 10% recycled. This equates to an estimated 8,500 tonnes of aluminium, plastic and used coffee grounds going to landfill every year.

Recycling coffee pods can turn coffee grounds into compost. Aluminium can be infinitely recycled into new products. Research into innovative options for all materials is currently underway.

The Podcycle scheme will help to reduce waste, recycle more, and save resources from going to landfill.

Current pod recycling options

Existing coffee pod recycling schemes are brand specific and there is currently no recycling solution at kerbside due to coffee pods' small size, which causes them to fall through the cracks at recycling centres. Coffee pods also cause contamination in the recycling stream when placed in kerbside recycling bins.

While PODcycle is set for launch in 2023, our scheme partner Nespresso provides a free recycling service for its coffee capsules, recovering both the aluminium packaging and coffee grounds.

Customers can recycle their capsules at one of the 19,000 drop-off points around Australia or return them through the post. Bulk collection boxes are also available to businesses and organisations.

Find recycling options here.

Find out more

Discover other national product stewardship schemes in operation.