Published on 14th December 2022

Rick Hindley, executive director, Podback, Cllr Iain Dobie member for waste, recycling and street services, Mayor of Cheltenham Cllr Sandra Holliday, Children from Greatfield Park primary school

Mayor of Cheltenham unveils plaque to mark the first anniversary of Cheriton Park Hillview pocket forest.

Local primary school Greatfield Park pupils and Mayor of Cheltenham Cllr Sandra Holliday recently helped celebrate the first anniversary of Cheriton Park, Hillview pocket forest.

Almost 300 native saplings were planted at the site, using a mix of 22 native species including oak, birch, hawthorn, holly and maple.

The pocket forest has benefitted from the council’s partnership with Podback, coffee pod recycling, by using collected pod coffee grounds to create soil improver. Cheltenham residents have recycled over 2.3 million pods at home since May 2021.

Cllr Iain Dobie cabinet member for waste, recycling and street services, said: "The Mayor has unveiled a plaque to mark the wonderful celebration of creating a living legacy.

‘’The partnership with Podback and the local community has provided a real opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to reducing carbon and ensuring all the plastic and aluminium from the coffee pods is recycled. As a bonus the Podback scheme is increasing the amount of tree cover in our town, helping to provide a better habitat for insects and birds.”

Mrs Jenny Robbins, acting operational head of Greatfield Park primary school said: "I’m pleased that our children have had the opportunity to see how worthwhile recycling is and be involved in looking after the trees.  Pupils on our school council met with the Mayor and were keen to talk about how they and the council are taking proactive steps towards our Cheltenham Zero target.’’

Rick Hindley, Podback's executive director, added: "Cheltenham was the first local authority to sign up to the Podback kerbside coffee pod collection service and planting a pocket forest is a great way to thank Cheltenham for their support.  Not only are we celebrating the first anniversary of the planting of the Podback Pocket Forest in Cheltenham but also the fantastic participation from residents who have collected over 2.3 million coffee pods so far.‘’

To get involved, residents simply need to register at www.podback.org  and order free recycling bags. These bags can then be put out for kerbside collection every week with waste and recycling on their normal collection day. Residents can recycle both plastic and aluminium coffee pods depending on the pods they use.


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Notes

Image: (left to right) Rick Hindley, executive director, Podback, Cllr Iain Dobie member for waste, recycling and street services, Mayor of Cheltenham Cllr Sandra Holliday, Children from Greatfield Park primary school

Podback is a coffee pod recycling scheme, created in partnership with the biggest names in coffee pods, Nespresso, NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto and Tassimo

In 2021, a partnership was formed between the council and Podback coffee pod recycling service  and the tree planting was a thank you to Cheltenham for being the first authority to sign up to the new service.

The pocket forest is planted in a 100m2 area close to Morrisons supermarket, the community centre and local primary school Greatfield Park, at Cheriton Park Hillview.