Used coffee pods can now be recycled at three household waste recycling centres in Leeds with a new trial underway.

Leeds City Council has partnered with Podback, a not-for-profit coffee pod recycling service, to trial coffee pod recycling at household waste recycling centres at Kirkstall, Wetherby and Yeadon.

The centres now include Podback containers at each site, one to collect aluminium pods and one for plastic pods. Coffee, tea or hot chocolate pods from participating brands can be recycled in the containers. To see the list of brands visit the Podback website at https://www.podback.org/about.

Used pods should be dropped into the containers loose and in their entirety, ready to be collected and recycled at dedicated Podback facilities in the UK. Any remaining coffee grounds or residue left in the pods will be treated by anaerobic digestion locally in Yorkshire to create renewable energy (biogas) and soil improver.

Leeds City Council executive member for climate, energy, environment and green space Councillor Mohammed Rafique said: 

“We are really excited to start the new year by working with Podback to recycle coffee pods at our household waste recycling centres. The timing is ideal, as people may have received a coffee-maker as a gift for Christmas so now they can recycle the pods easily and help the environment at the same time. We are very pleased to be offering this service to people in Leeds and working with Podback on this trial.”

Podback Executive Director Rick Hindley said:

“It’s great to be able to expand the Podback service by trialling it at three of Leeds City Council’s recycling centres. We want to make coffee pod recycling as easy as possible, and this new service enables residents to drop off pods when convenient, alongside other recyclables, and helping to reduce waste and increase recycling.” 

For more information on Podback visit https://www.podback.org/ or to see their video on how their recycling works visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-QQcAS1gPE.

Compostable pods cannot be recycled in the Podback containers or brown garden waste bins - they should be placed in a home composting bin.

Other pod drop-off points aside from the household waste recycling centres can be seen by entering postcodes and pod details into Podback’s recycling tracker at https://www.podback.org/recycle-checker.

ENDS

A Leeds children’s home which provides short breaks and respite for children and young people with complex needs and disabilities has been rated outstanding by Ofsted for the eighth time in a row.

Ancient artefacts unearthed and collected during the construction of a huge Leeds transport project have been preserved at a Leeds museum.

Spanning more than six thousand years of the city’s history, the remarkable archive includes a beautifully preserved prehistoric arrowhead, a Bronze Age axe, medieval pottery and a 300-year-old pair of nutcrackers.

The leader of Leeds City Council has paid tribute to football hero Terry Yorath, who has died at the age of 75.

The beginning of a new year is always a chance for us to reflect on the past whilst also looking ahead with excitement and anticipation to what the future may hold.

Over the coming year, that sentiment will carry more significance for Leeds than ever as the city prepares to mark a very special, and completely unique historical milestone.

Plans for a tribute to a pioneering 19^th century British locomotive driver who was laid to rest in Leeds are gathering steam following a chance discovery at a local museum.

During recent renovation work at Leeds Industrial Museum in Armley, curators happened upon the beautifully carved gravestone of Robert Morrow, more than 160 years after his death in nearby New Wortley.