Coffee pods can now be recycled at four locations in County Durham as part of a trial scheme.
Durham County Council is offering coffee pod recycling bins at its Horden, Potterhouse Lane, Stainton Grove, and Tudhoe household waste recycling centres.
The council is running the scheme in partnership with specialist coffee pod recycling service, Podback, and HW Martin, which manages the centres.
Cllr Mark Wilkes, Durham County Council’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods and climate change, said: “Traditionally, coffee pods have been hard to recycle but through this trial scheme we’re providing facilities at four locations where people can drop off both aluminium and plastic pods.
“You don’t need to empty out the coffee but there are separate containers for aluminium pods and plastic pods, just make sure they go into the correct bin on site.
“Podback recycles the pods here in the UK by shredding them, removing any coffee, and then reprocessing the empty pods for use in the manufacture of new products.
“Coffee grounds are processed to create soil improver and biogas, which is a renewable energy.
“It all helps cut down on waste and gives the materials a new life and if we see strong demand for these recycling facilities we will consider rolling them out to more of our sites.”