Coffee shots get a second shot: Nespresso expands their capsule recycling network

Nespresso is expanding its aluminium coffee capsule recycling network across New Zealand, adding 25 JB Hi-Fi stores as collection points and bringing the total number of participating retail locations to 138. The move gives coffee drinkers more places to return used capsules, helping make recycling a little easier after that final, satisfying sip.

The new collection points join existing locations at Briscoes and Noel Leeming stores. The expansion also complements other return options available through Nespresso, including its boutiques, public collection points, NZ Post drop-off locations and courier collections from customers’ homes.

The aim is to make returning used capsules more convenient, recognising that a single collection method will not work for everyone. For those who enjoy their daily coffee ritual, it means there are now more ways to ensure the capsule’s journey does not end when the cup is empty.

Giving aluminium capsules a second life

Nespresso’s capsule system, launched in 1986, uses aluminium to help preserve coffee freshness and protect the contents. The material also offers an important advantage at the end of its first use: aluminium can be recycled repeatedly without losing its properties.

An estimated 75 per cent of all aluminium ever produced remains in use today, across products ranging from food packaging and cars to computers, window frames and bicycles.

Through Nespresso’s recycling programme, used capsules and their coffee grounds are collected and directed into separate recovery processes. Recycling partner Sustainable Salvage helps repurpose the aluminium after it has been separated from the grounds.

The result is a process designed to recover value from both parts of the capsule rather than treating the used packaging as waste. The collection network is therefore an important link between consumers returning their capsules and the partners responsible for processing them.

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From coffee grounds to renewable energy and fertiliser

The aluminium is only part of the story. In Reporoa, in New Zealand’s Waikato region, local company Ecogas gives used coffee grounds another purpose through a natural process that produces renewable energy and nutrient-rich fertiliser.

Ecogas received the Low Carbon Future Award at the 2023 New Zealand Energy Excellence Awards, recognising initiatives to reduce emissions.

The programme also supports local communities through Recycle Forward, Nespresso’s partnership with Papatūānuku Kōkiri Marae. More than three tonnes of recycled coffee grounds have been used to enrich gardens, while more than NZ$13,000 has supported community initiatives including Koha Café, Kai Ika and Pay It Forward.

So, while the coffee might be long gone, its grounds can still help nourish gardens and support community projects.

Even the return bags have another use

The recycling effort extends beyond the capsules themselves. Postage bags used to return capsules are transformed into durable fence posts by Future Post, a company based in Waiuku, Auckland, which makes fencing and landscaping products from recycled plastic sourced from Nespresso and other suppliers.

The expansion builds on more than a decade of work by Nespresso to develop local recycling options and partnerships. The company is B Corp-certified and says it continues to work on circularity and sustainability across its global operations, alongside regenerative coffee farming practices and initiatives supporting coffee-growing communities.

With 25 additional retail collection points now joining the network, returning used capsules becomes more accessible to New Zealand coffee drinkers. It is a small extra step after making a coffee, but one that can help send aluminium, coffee grounds and even return packaging towards another use.

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