A circular economy aims “to retain as much value as possible from resources, products, parts and materials to create a system that allows for long life, optimal reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling”, according to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
It’s a concept that holds great promise for both the planet and the global economy – allowing us to reduce our use of natural resources while creating new products and income streams from materials that would have traditionally ended up in landfill.
One way Nespresso is putting circular thinking into practice is through our capsule recycling program – an initiative that started in Switzerland in 1991. In 2024, over 90% of Nespresso capsules are bought by consumers who have access to a convenient recycling option.
This program allows our customers to return their aluminium Nespresso capsules for recycling. Depending on where they reside in the world, this collection process can be as simple as dropping a bag of capsules in the post box, returning them to a boutique, or giving them to another type of designated drop-off location.
Once returned, the coffee grounds are composted or used to generate biogas – and the aluminium in our capsules is recycled (and can be recycled over and over again without losing its properties).1
Over the years, we have seen promising success through this program. In Korea, Hungary and Canada, we estimate the effective recycling rate is above 45%, while in Switzerland and Taiwan it is above 60%.
That said, we are always looking to improve – and increase the percentage of capsules that are recycled.
Here, we’ll explore how we’re working to make the recycling process even easier for our customers – and the world at large.
1. Despite the melt loss, the metal properties are unchanged and can be recycled repeatedly.
The challenge of curbside collection
One of the primary reasons we chose to launch the Nespresso recycling program, rather than rely on curbside recycling services, is due to the small size of our capsules.
Because there are still sorting centres that are not equipped to sort out smaller items, these items often end up in landfill or are incinerated. To avoid this, our collected materials head to private sorting centres that use specialised equipment to separate the small pieces of aluminium (like Nespresso capsules) from the larger ones and other non-metal materials.
This equipment includes a shredder, which opens up the capsules and separate the grounds from the aluminium. From there, a sieve separates the coffee grounds for collection. Finally, Eddy current separators use magnetic fields to collect all the small pieces of shredded aluminium.
The advantage of these Eddy current separators is that they have the potential to separate small pieces of non-ferrous metals (such as aluminium, die-cast metal and copper) from other non-metal recyclables (like plastic) – something older recycling centres cannot do.
While this is changing as recycling systems evolve, we’re working to accelerate the transition – and add another layer of convenience to our recycling program – by helping bring more Eddy current separators to public recycling facilities across the globe.
Outfitting public recycling facilities
The primary barrier to municipal recycling centres adopting Eddy current separators is the significant upfront cost. Securing the necessary funding requires municipalities to effectively demonstrate the value and benefits these systems provide.
Through a variety of private-public partnerships, we’ve helped install over 100 Eddy current separators in public sorting centres across the world since 2009. In France, for example, we invested in the first four machines – to showcase the technology’s potential – which ultimately inspired the country to invest in 65 additional machines. In New York, we outfitted the city’s sorting centre with an Eddy current separator, which ultimately increased their recycling capabilities. And in Belgium, we agreed to pay a fee for every Nespresso capsule sold, which helps offset the cost of their Eddy machines.
Driving private sector collaboration
Our investments in Eddy current separators are contributing to the development of recycling infrastructure globally - which, we hope, will help increase the global recycling rate of Nespresso capsules from 35% in 2024, to 60% by 2030.
Achieving this target will involve finding ways to expand our impact by inviting other organisations to join us. One way we’re doing this is by forming private sector recycling consortiums in areas like Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, France, the UK, Switzerland and Austria. Essentially, these consortiums allow us to work alongside other organisations (and even some of our competitors) to enhance public recycling infrastructure at an accelerated pace.
“Belgium equipped six sorting centres with Eddy machines in January 2023 – so, in one go, it was able to equip the entire market, which is quite impressive,” says Pierre Jacquot, Global ESG Business Engagement and Recycling Manager at Nespresso.
“The Netherlands is on a similar journey – they started in December 2023, and have a plan to outfit all sorting centres with this new technology by 2026.”
Knowledge-sharing and innovation
Beyond working to enhance recycling infrastructure, we’re also collaborating with others to drive new recycling innovations – and new methods of reducing waste.
We do this, in part, by participating in industry discussions and sharing our knowledge – such as when we recently shared our learnings with Éco Entreprises Québec, the packaging recovery organisation in Quebec, Canada that manages the province’s curbside recycling system.
We also unlocked recycling innovation through our partnership with Natura – a Brazilian cosmetics company and fellow B Corp that upcycles Nespresso capsules into packaging for its Ekos Castanha hand moisturisers.
As part of this arrangement, Natura customers are able to drop off empty aluminium tubes at Nespresso coffee boutiques – while Nespresso customers also have the option to drop their capsules off at Natura storefronts. Both companies then send the empty packages to the Nespresso recycling hub in Osasco, São Paulo, Brazil.
“By working together, we’re not only make it easier for customers to recycle their empty Nespresso and Natura packages by increasing the number of collection points, but we’re putting circular thinking into practice – and demonstrating the business and environmental benefits of this innovative type of thinking,” says Pierre.
Article published in: March 2025
