More than one million coffee pods have been recycled through a scheme which reduces the environmental footprint of home coffee machines.

Cherwell District Council teamed up with non-profit organisation Podback, to recycle residents’ used coffee pods.

Since the start of collections in May 2023, more than 3,000 households have contributed to recycling 1,048,397 pods, weighing 16.4 tonnes.

Councillor Andrew McHugh said: "Waste reduction and recycling are key commitments for the council, but we can only make a real difference with the support of our communities.

READ MORE: Oxford Six by Nico set to open at Westgate Shopping Centre

"Reaching this million pods milestone only eight months into a new service is a real sign of residents’ commitment to environmental sustainability.

"Their efforts with coffee pods make an important contribution to our work to improve the district’s recycling rates and, like all recycling, it saves energy and reduces reliance on the extraction of raw materials.”

On signing up to the initiative, residents receive two free rolls of bags in the post.

Depending on whether they use aluminium or plastic pods, they receive bags in one of two different colours, making separation of materials for recycling easier.

Tea and hot chocolate pods are also accepted.

Following collection, the pods are taken to specialist UK reprocessing plants.

The coffee grounds are separated and processed for renewable energy and soil conditioning, whereas the plastic and aluminium are repurposed into various new products.