Posted on 15th September 2017 by Hintons
Nespresso coffee machines brought single-serve coffee to the homes of thousands, fueling an entire generation with that all-important jolt of morning caffeine. However, with so many people indulging in the benefits of easy-access coffee, it’s the benefits of recycling that seem to have fallen by the wayside.
Earlier this year, Nespresso implemented a six month pilot scheme to tackle the issue of low recycling rates for their proprietary coffee pods. In this article, we’re taking a look at how that scheme works.
Nespresso recycling trouble
Despite there already being a dedicated recycling scheme in place, Nespresso pods often find themselves deposited on landfill sites rather than being recycled by users. The new scheme is aimed at making the recycling process easier and more convenient for customers.
Kerbside collection
Because the pods are made of aluminium, it’s imperative that recycling rates improve to mitigate the carbon-heavy processes involved in the production and waste of the product. To combat this, Nespresso is working in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to provide kerbside collection of Nespresso pods for its premium Nespresso Club members.
Nespresso drinkers can place their empty aluminium pods into a specific purple bags that are provided by Nespresso themselves. The bags can be left on the kerbside, to be collected with the household recycling bin.
Once collected, the bags are taken to Nespresso’s own recycling centre in Congleton, where the aluminium waste is processed and recycled – alongside any coffee waste found inside the capsules.
Improvements
The original recycling scheme provides three ways for Nespresso pods to be recycled:
- Taken to a Nespresso ‘boutique’
- Arranged to be collected from the home while ordering new capsules
- Dropped off at various CollectPlus points
The new scheme makes it much more convenient to recycle the capsules; instead of going out of your way to dispose of all the capsules you’ve used, it simply becomes a part of your routine.
This convenience is key to more consistent recycling, and it is hoped that the trial will be a success, leading to a more permanent arrangement in the future.
Sustainability
The trial scheme demonstrates a promising commitment to sustainability. It allows consumers to recycle a material that some may have not realised could be recycled in the first place; but as it is, the scheme is still limited. Hopefully, in time, the scheme becomes a natural part of Nespresso machine ownership across the country.
As coffee capsules grow more and more popular, it’s important that there is a simple, structured way to limit the waste associated with them. Nespresso is the leading single serve coffee company in the world, so the more recycling options available the better. Once the scheme comes to a close near the end of the year, we’ll hopefully have a better idea as to the future of coffee pod recycling.
Waste management
For commercial and industrial businesses, a commitment to waste management will allow you to take full advantage of the benefits of recycling. As with Nespresso coffee pods, there are many recyclable waste materials generated in the workplace that are instead sent to the landfill. Putting steps in place to maximise recycling rates for demolition waste, construction waste and computer/electrical waste, for instance, will help to make us less reliant on the landfill. At Hinton’s Waste, that’s precisely what we strive to do.
Hinton’s Waste offers first class recycling and waste management services in London and Croydon. We aim to recycle at least 90% of the commercial and domestic waste we collect, while ensuring an efficient and reliable service every time. For more information, simply contact our friendly team today.