Great service to get Royalmail to collect from your doorstep ( you have to now book via Nespresso website but didn’t used to). We fill a bag to the line each month, it would be good to get more places... See more
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Really terrible service. Impossible to locate recycling bags. Tried every Starbucks in my area, also in London Kings Cross station, also various Morrisons. None of them had heard of Podback. Wrote dir... See more
Company replied
Bad idea to stop recycling coffee pods through Yodel. It worked! My new local drop off point (Tesco) won't accept them as podback aren't picking up, they are throwing them in the skip!....Next neare... See more
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Without the Yodel dropoff, which I've being doing for the last year, their nowhere in a reasonable distance for me to recycle my pods. There are barely any locations in London. It's disappointing as... See more
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Company details
Written by the company
Podback: the UK's coffee pod recycling service. We are working with coffee brands, retailers, local authorities and recyclers to give your used coffee pods a new life—from plastic and aluminium turned into new products to coffee grounds used to create renewable energy and soil improver. With a growing network of drop-off points available in supermarkets, coffee shops and recycling centres, we’re working on ways to make recycling pods part of your regular routine. Podback is a not-for-profit organisation, funded by our member brands.
Contact info
Suite 4, 4 Hilliards Court, Chester Business Park, CH4 9QP, Chester, United Kingdom
- podback.org
2.7
Poor
129 reviews
Replied to 100% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 2 weeks
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See how their reviews and ratings are sourced, scored, and moderated.
Good to recycle
Great service to get Royalmail to collect from your doorstep ( you have to now book via Nespresso website but didn’t used to). We fill a bag to the line each month, it would be good to get more places to get back from, I get my neighbours to get me 20 bags with their Ocado orders as we stop using them a year back and the only other place us going to Nespresso in Bluewater to get them. I knocked a star off because of that.
April 3, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, we appreciate your support on our mission to ensure every pod enjoyed is recycled.
If you need bags, you can sign up for an account on the Podback website and we can send you out up to 5 bags at a time.
Many thanks,
The Podback Team
Was great when you could drop them off…
Was great when you could drop them off with Yodel. I don’t drive and the nearest Morrisons/Costa is miles away , local recycling centre that accepts them won’t let you on the premises on foot/bike. House rapidly filling up with full bags of coffee pods now. Probably end up binning them sadly.
February 6, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Hovis,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
We’re sorry to hear that the change from the Yodel service has made recycling your coffee pods more difficult, particularly as you don’t drive. We understand how frustrating this situation must be.
The decision to end the Yodel service was made following a high number of complaints from users, including difficulties printing labels and some locations refusing to accept bags. We have since moved to a retail drop-off network, launching with 1,000 locations and adding a further 300 so far, and we’re continuing to expand to make recycling more convenient for as many people as possible.
Best wishes,
The Podback Team
Very Positive Experience
To counter some of the negative reviews, my experience has been really positive, the bags are ordered from Podback direct and are shipped quickly. First time at my local Asda, one customer service rep didn't know what I was talking about but her colleague quickly advised her and the label was quickly printed. Also my local recycling centre (Pyle) has special bins for Podback, separate ones for plastic and aluminium pods.
January 23, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience.
We’re really pleased to hear that ordering Podback bags has been straightforward and that they arrived quickly. It’s also great to know that the team at your local Asda were able to help get the label printed smoothly — feedback like this helps reassure others that support is there when needed.
We love hearing that Pyle recycling centre is working well for you too, especially with the separate bins for plastic and aluminium pods. That’s exactly how the system is designed to work, so it’s fantastic to know it’s making recycling easier locally.
Thanks again for sharing such positive feedback — it really does make a difference.
Terrible Customer Service
I have two coffee machines, a Dolce Gusto and Nespresso. I ordered podback bags for Dolce Gusto and they were provided without issue. I attempted to order additional bags for my Nespresso machine to place Aldi Alcafe aluminium pods in and the website told me "We're sorry but it's not possible to order bags from us today" and to wait until the end of February.
I emailed customer service and asked if I could order bags for an additional machine for Alcafe pods and they told me to contact Nespresso, I went back and explained again that I required different bags for Alcafe pods and they told me to order them on their website, I initially contacted them as I was unable to do this. I went back a third time and they advised me to change the type of bag required and wait 24 hours. I did that five days ago and am still unable to order. At this point, I've just given up trying.
January 20, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello John,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We’ve looked into your conversation with our customer service team and agree that your query wasn’t fully understood — we’re sorry for the confusion caused.
To clarify, if you’d like to order two different types of Podback bags, you’ll need to update your coffee pod preference in your account and then wait 24 hours for our system to reset. After this, you’ll be able to order the alternative bag type.
An alternative option is to set up two Podback accounts using different email addresses, with each account set to a different pod type.
We’ll be reviewing this feedback as part of our customer service training to help prevent this happening again.
Best wishes,
The Podback Team
Reply from Podback
Hi Ian,
Thank you so much for your 5-star review. We are really glad that the Asda store staff at Newton Abbot were able to help you recycle your Podback bags.
Best wishes,
The Podback Team
Full bags being dumped by Costa!
Our local recycling collection point is Costa in Ludlow. Took a bag in, they refused to take it saying they couldn't recycle it and the scheme was ended. Contacted Podback and Costa, both said the scheme was running and the store should be taking the bags. Filled another bag, took it in a month later. Again they refused to take it saying they had no way of recycling it and had already dumped 50 full bags brought to them. Showed them the emails from Costa HQ, it made no difference. In the end she took the bag but said she'd just be throwing it away! The next nearest drop off is a 30 min drive away. This is useless! Emailed Costa and Podback again, no reply.
December 18, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Yvonne,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We’re sorry for the inconvenience you experienced.
We’re currently working closely with the Costa team to resolve this issue. In the meantime, we’ve temporarily removed this location from our interactive map to avoid further confusion.
We understand that you’ve been in touch with our customer service team, who have shared alternative ways for you to recycle your pods while this is being sorted.
Best wishes,
The Podback Team
Tried to find nearest co-op and there…
Tried to find nearest co-op and there didn’t seem to be any. Was excited to think I could recycle as I have several co-ops near me. Kept bringing up local recycling and stores other than Co-op!!!
November 26, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Susan,
Thank you for sharing your experience. We’re currently running a trial with selected Co-op stores, so only participating locations will appear in the search results. The trial will run for six months, and if it proves successful, we hope to expand the service to more stores. We appreciate your interest in recycling with Podback, we are activley working to expand our network of drop-off locations and hope to announce more in the New Year.
Best wishes,
The Podback Team
The link for the nearest store sends…
The link for the nearest store sends you to a forbidden page? 🤷🏽♂️
November 25, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Gary,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, please can you complete our contact us form to explain where your were experiencing this issue, as we are not able to replicate it. https://podback.org/contact-us
Many thanks,
The Podback Team
Used to recycle podback bags at the…
I used to take podback bags to the local co op but that site no longer accepts them. 25 mile round trip to the nearest site.
Was checking the website to see if anything had improved but it is not working. 403 forbidden error message.
November 19, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Janet,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. You are getting a 403 error because you are either not in the UK or you have an active VPN. To access the Podback website. Please turn off the VPN, you will then be able to access the Podback website.
Best wishes,
The Podback Team
All the parties involved need to sort out their problems
This issue has gone on for years! It is now at ridiculous levels! We have a Tassimo machine and trying to adhere to the recycling policy is now almost impossible! None of the supermarkets who are meant to issue bags and are all saying that they can’t get supplies of the recycling bags! I spoke to Tassimo customer service today and they said that it was nothing to do with them? I should look at the podbags website and order them online. Unfortunately to do this you have to open an account and we have previously had issues with the account when we had one ie tracking and data trading, so we are not going to go down this wormhole again! Our local council also has not signed up to the pod recycling scheme,so the only options available to us are to use a standard carrier bag to deposit them or put them in the recycling bin and hope that somewhere in the system they are picked up ( I don’t think it’s possible)?
November 7, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Gavin, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We’re genuinely sorry to hear that you feel dissatisfied with your experience.
We apologise that you are struggling to get Podback bags in-store. Morrisons and Costa Coffee in Tesco are responsible for stocking bags. Podback sends bags to their central distribution centres.
However, we do want to clarify an important point in your comment. We do not track customers, and we never sell, trade, or share personal data with any third parties. Data protection is something we take extremely seriously, and we operate fully in line with GDPR and all applicable privacy regulations.
If there was any confusion regarding your previous account or how the service worked, we would be more than happy to look into this and provide clarity. Please feel free to contact our customer support team directly at https://podback.org/contact-us so we can assist you further.
Not impressed
Not impressed. We used to send pods for recycling via courier and this service has been cancelled. There is no drop off location near me, so I just drove 5 miles out of my way to a location listed on the website (costa coffee in Tescos New Malden) only to be told they don’t accept them. Hie on earth am I supposed to stop them becoming land fill? Sort it out!!!!!!
September 23, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Natalie,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. You are not the only person to bring this to our attention. We are in communication with Costa Coffee about this but it is taking longer than expected to resolve. As a temporary measure, we have removed this location off our map and we are advising users to use one of our alternative drop-off locations on our map. Once it's confirmed that the issue has been resolved, we will put it back on on our Recycle Checker map.
Best wishes,
The Podback Team
Podback still making no progress
For months Podback have been responding with the message "We’re continuing to work hard to improve and expand the service so it’s as straightforward and reliable as possible for everyone.". I see no evidence of this! It's still impossible for me to recycle pods without a 20 mile round trip. I can't currently drive for medical reasons so feel discriminated against since they stopped the local drop-off. I realise it's a free service but I'll sadly be giving up and using the nice strong plastic bags the pod makers keep sending us to dump the pods to landfill.
September 9, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Mark,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We’re sorry to hear that the removal of Yodel has made using the Podback service less convenient for you.
As you have highlighted, we are working hard to expand our network. As you can imagine, Working with large retailers and rolling out to hundred's of stores takes time. We hope to announce more locations in the coming months.
Best regards,
The Podback Team
This is not proper recycling
What is the point of recycling the pots with special bags if you have to go out of your way in car to drop of this bag, so I would spend more money on petrol and polute the environment . Just not enough points and I live in big town.
Website is rubbish too.
August 27, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Miss Wierzbowska,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We’re sorry to hear that the removal of Yodel has made using the Podback service less convenient for you.
We did not take this decision lightly, in 2024 we conducted research and users said they would prefer to take their bags to the supermarket as part of their regular shopping routine.
We’re continuing to work hard to improve and expand the service so it’s as straightforward and reliable as possible for everyone.
Best regards,
The Podback Team
Podback needs to bring back the Yodel ASAP
Podback needs to bring back the Yodel option. I don't shop at Asda. It was so convenient before. I have no problems with Yodel. Such a nuisance now. Needs sorting ASAP. Just read the excuses. I use to put my pods with the bag in an old Amazon box. Yodel was such a Simple process.
August 18, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Mark,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We’re sorry to hear that the removal of Yodel has made using the Podback service less convenient for you.
The decision to remove Yodel was made back in March, following challenges experienced by many users – including difficulties accessing labels and some Yodel shops refusing to accept bags.
We’re continuing to work hard to improve and expand the service so it’s as straightforward and reliable as possible for everyone.
Best regards,
The Podback Team
Podback funded by Jacobs Douwe Egberts and Nestle’
I think it is important to point out that Podback is wholly jointly funded by Jacobs Douwe Egberts ( JDE) and Nestle’. It is a not -for- profit company. It has been able to file ‘ small company accounts’ at Companies House, which implies it may have a very small number of employees. ( ? less than 12).
The recent changes to service are stated to have been introduced as a result of negative feedback re the Yodel service and/or as a result of a YouGov survey of 2,000+ registered customers carried out, I believe from attributable quotes on their website, in 2020. So, hardly up to date research and carried out at a time when priorities were elsewhere.
I recently asked if, in the interest of transparency, they would send me a copy of the questionnaire used in the survey, but they declined citing the usual corporate babble!
I purchase my Tassimo pods in bulk directly from JDE and consider my contract to be with them only, so why should I not be enabled to return the used pods directly to them or their agents and not via supermarkets of ‘last resort’. Those who were perfectly happy with the old system are treated with barely disguised disdain.
This has the strong scent of being a cost cutting exercise.
Let’s be plain here; Podback is not a charity, but a company funded by two huge corporations. To provide context, If I am correct, JDE Europe’s last annual accounts showed a profit of 1.13 billion euros.
If previous form is anything to go by, I should imminently expect some positive reviews to mysteriously appear here!
August 1, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We appreciate you letting us know how the removal of Yodel has affected your experience with Podback.
We understand your concerns about not being consulted on these changes. We have been in contact with you directly and have responded to the issues you raised.
Your feedback is important to us as we continue to develop and improve the service.
Best regards,
The Podback Team
Bring back the courier service
Really disappointed that you stopped the Yodel service. My closest drop off point is 2.5miles away, in a supermarket I never use. I don't have a car so it's not practical for me. I now have 5 full bags of Tassimo pods that are going to go to a landfill because of your decision. Very sad. Yodel may not be the best but surely there must be another courier service that could offer this service.
August 3, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Sabine,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We’re sorry to hear that the removal of Yodel has made it more difficult for you to use the Podback service, especially without easy access to a drop-off point.
The decision to withdraw Yodel was made after ongoing issues reported by many users, including difficulties getting labels and some shops refusing to accept bags. We know this change hasn’t suited everyone, and we understand your frustration.
Please be assured we are continuing to work hard to expand and improve the service, including exploring more convenient options for collection and drop-off. Feedback like yours is really valuable in helping us do that.
Best regards,
The Podback Team
We signed up for podback ,we went on…
We signed up for podback ,we went on our holidays so no pods out for 3 weeks. Put out first available slot at 5am and still there 24 hours later not impressed.
July 7, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Grace,
Thank you for leaving a review, We are sorry that your experience has not met your expectations. Please can you raise a support ticket on our website so that we can investigate further. https://podback.org/contact-us
Best wishes,
The Podback Team
You’ve stopped kerbside recycling so…
You’ve stopped kerbside recycling so there is no point to podback as the drop off points you are using don’t cover my city equitably
July 1, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Sally,
We understand how frustrating it can be when a service you’ve relied on is no longer available, and we want to thank you for your commitment to recycling with us and for taking the time to get in touch.
We’ve worked hard to ensure that the new ways to recycle are as convenient and accessible as possible, enabling people to add pod recycling to their regular routine such as going to the supermarket or visiting the recycling centre.
Our network will continue to expand as more partners come on board. Please keep checking our interactive map, or follow us on social media to get the latest information.
In the meantime we hope you will continue to recycle your pods.
Best wishes,
The Podback Team
Changes
Everything was good until kerbside collection has stopped, also local shop drop off. No Asda or Morrisons near, don’t drive, mostly online shop. So disappointing gone backwards as won’t be able to recycle, and I will still use Tassimo pods.
July 10, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Gwyneth,
We understand it can be disappointing when a service you’ve come to rely on is no longer available, and we truly appreciate your ongoing commitment to recycling and for reaching out to us.
We’ve worked hard to make the new recycling options as convenient and accessible as possible—allowing people to incorporate pod recycling into everyday routines, like a trip to the supermarket or recycling centre.
Our network is continuing to grow as more partners join us. Please keep an eye on our interactive map or follow us on social media for the latest updates.
In the meantime, we hope you’ll continue to recycle your pods and thank you again for your support.
Best wishes,
The Podback Team
Our council had a link to Podback that…
Our council had a link to Podback that enabled a collection on the same day as household rubbish. Now sadly collection in this area will be via supermarkets I don't use or a special trip to the tip which is by appointment only.
July 10, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Podback
Hello Jean,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We understand it can be disappointing when a service you’ve come to rely on is no longer available, and we truly appreciate your ongoing commitment to recycling and for reaching out to us.
Our network is continuing to grow as more partners join us. Please keep an eye on our interactive map or follow us on social media for the latest updates.
In the meantime, we hope you’ll continue to recycle your pods and thank you again for your support.
Best wishes,
The Podback Team
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