Discover more about our commitment with sustainability

Nespresso capsules are made from aluminium – the ideal material to protect the freshness and quality of our Nespresso coffee capsules, which has the additional benefit of being infinitely recyclable. Nespresso has been investing in its dedicated recycling scheme for more than 25 years. We are committed to making it as simple and convenient for our customers to recycle their Nespresso capsules.

Nespresso has its own dedicated recycling scheme, offering a range of options to make it simple and convenient for customers to recycle their used capsules. You can deliver your capsules in the recycling bag at more than 250 points, at Boutiques or by returning it to the mailman upon delivery of the new order. Our ambition is to have our aluminium capsules included in established collective recycling schemes, and we are working with governments and local authorities to achieve this.

Our recycled capsules go back into the aluminium value chain, where they are recycled into a range of uses – such as car engines, bicycles, and computers. We also re-use the coffee grounds to create nutrient-rich compost or green energy.

We use aluminium because it is the ideal material to protect the freshness, taste and quality of Nespresso coffee capsules. Aluminium is a naturally-occurring metal and is infinitely recyclable. Thanks to the aluminium, there is no need for additional over-packaging to protect freshness and taste. Recycled aluminium is extremely versatile. An estimated 75% of all aluminium ever produced is still in use today. Aluminium is used in a wide range of products, from food packaging to cars and computers, window frames to bicycles.

1. Through the dedicated Nespresso scheme, used capsules are sent to our recycling facility
2. The coffee grounds are separated from the capsule
3. The coffee grounds are transformed into green energy or nutrient-rich compost
4. The capsules are heated, melted and recycled

Yes, most domestic Nespresso capsules have 80% recycled aluminum in their composition. We estimate to have, by the end of 2021, all domestic capsules with at least 80% recycled aluminum.

Plastic capsules generally need more packaging such as an additional wrapper to preserve freshness. Ironically, this is often made of aluminium. We believe aluminium is the more sustainable material for our capsules as it reduces the need for extra packaging and protects the freshness and quality of our coffee - and it is infinitely recyclable.

We believe that portioned coffee makes sense from a sustainability perspective. We use a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to measure the carbon footprint of our products. We are working at all stages of our product life-cycle – from seed to sip – to reduce our environment impact and be carbon neutral by 2022.

We use a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to measure the environmental impact of our products. It shows that the greatest impacts are the processes of coffee farming, followed by the machine-use phase. Packaging is not the main driver of the environmental impact, it only comes third. With the Nespresso precision consumption system, our customers only use the exact amount of water, coffee and energy needed to make one cup with no wasted resources - minimizing food, water and energy waste. The precise use of resources in a precision consumption system can actually reduce waste, and in many scenarios this more than compensates for the additional packaging used for portioned coffee.

Nespresso Professional capsules can be recycled just like our at-home capsules can be. The collection and recycling of capsules is discussed on a case by case basis with our professional customers and we have set up many personalised services across the countries we work in to make sure they can also recycle.