Nespresso is bringing back its popular Recycling Rewards initiative for a second year to raise awareness of its coffee capsule recycling program, as research from YouGov reveals widespread confusion over how Australia’s recycling systems work.
As many as 78 per cent of Australians sampled believe machines (73%), councils (31%) or volunteers (10%) will sort and redirect their household recycling regardless of which bin they put it into.
However, many recyclable household items such as mobile phones, batteries and aluminium coffee capsules must be recycled through a separate system – and many of these will not be redirected or recycled if put in kerbside recycling bins.
To encourage more coffee drinkers to use Nespresso’s dedicated coffee capsule recycling program, for all of June, Australians can participate in Recycling Rewards by recycling a minimum of 100 aluminium coffee capsules at any Nespresso boutique nationwide in return for a $5 discount on coffee or machine purchases during their visit.
Participants will also have the chance to win one of 10 Velosophy RE:CYCLE bicycles made using aluminium from Nespresso’s Swiss recycling scheme; second-life rewards designed to inspire around the possibilities of recycling as the study reveals 55 pe3r cent of Australians would be more likely to recycle if they knew their used items could become.
Lottie Dalziel, 2023 NSW Young Australian of the Year and founder of Banish and BRAD, said incentivised initiatives like Nespresso’s Recycling Rewards are a great way to raise awareness of dedicated recycling channels, and prevent items such as aluminium coffee capsules from being wish-cycled – the practice of putting used items into a recycling bin and hoping they will be recycled at the other end, even if there’s little evidence to suggest it will happen.
“I see so many Australians trying to do the right thing by putting used household items like soft plastics, toothbrushes and aluminium coffee capsules in their kerbside recycling bins, and optimistically hoping they will be recycled at the other end,” said Dalziel.
“Most often than not, it sadly isn’t the case. Many items like aluminium coffee capsules must be recycled through dedicated programs like Nespresso’s where infrastructure exists to separate the materials.
“In fact, adding incorrect items to the wrong recycling bin can cause contaminations, which could send the whole load of recyclable items to landfill. So, I want to help educate Australians on what exists for recycling, so their fantastic efforts aren’t wasted.”
When recycled at Nespresso, both the aluminium and the coffee grounds in Nespresso capsules can go on to a second life.
The coffee is sent to a facility to be processed into compost, and can be used in soil mix for landscaping, while the aluminium is sent back to the aluminium industry to produce new products.
“We use aluminium in our coffee capsules as it not only protects the freshness, taste and quality of Nespresso capsules, it is also infinitely recyclable. Importantly, Nespresso machines and capsules have also been designed for precision consumption,” said Jean-Marc Dragoli, managing director at Nespresso Oceania.
“Our system optimises the use of resources such as energy, water, and most critically, coffee, minimising waste. It’s why a cup of coffee made using the Nespresso system has a comparable footprint to a French press or drip filter machine, and a significantly better footprint compared to a full automat or bean-to-cup system.
“We’ve been expanding our recycling program over the last decade to come within reach of our customers with four wars to get involved.”
“We hope that by bringing back Recycling Rewards back to our boutiques, we can welcome even more Australian coffee drinkers to use our recycling program to give their coffee capsules a second life.”
To receive a $5 discount on Nespresso coffee or machines, simply return a minimum of 100 aluminium coffee capsules to your nearest Nespresso boutique between 1-30 June and scan the QR code in-store to enter.
Participating Australians will also go into the running to win one of 10 Nespresso Velosophy RE:CYCLE bicycles.
