Nescafe Dolce Gusto Pods are now recyclable.  I know that this has been a concern of mine and many others that with the increasing using of coffee pods the amount of waste from the pods is going to escalate to crazy proportions.  That is why I was so happy to hear that Terracycle have added the Nescafe Dolce Gusto pods to their list of recyclable items. TerraCycle is an innovative recycling company that has become a global leader in recycling hard-to-recycle waste. TerraCycle offers free recycling programs funded by brands, manufacturers, and retailers around the world to help you collect and recycle your hard-to-recycle waste. Simply choose the programs you’d like to join; start collecting in your home, school, or office; download free shipping labels; and send us your waste to be recycled. You can even earn rewards for your school or favorite non-profit!  

to recycle your pods you need to collect them in a plastic bag and return to a Nespresso collection point. (As of September 2016, Nespresso also sells pre-paid Australia Post satchels consumers can send back to the company for recycling, with up to 130 capsules at a time.) The company claims that by 2013 they were able to collect 75 per cent of all capsules sold worldwide, but they haven't revealed data on how many they actually recycle. In Australia, pod collection is done by a company called TerraCycle, whose mission is to divert hard-to-recycle waste from landfills.

How did I end up with a new coffee machine? Well, I was contacted by the folks at TerraCycle as part of their initiative to spread the word about recycling coffee capsules. Coffee machines that use capsules have become quite popular during the last few years since they’re easy to use and taste a million times better than instant coffee (and I imagine all those Nespresso ads with George Clooney may have helped too). But all those coffee capsules create a lot of garbage, right? Not necessarily! What many people probably don’t realize is that you don’t have to throw your capsules in the trash – many of them are recyclable. As someone who has been using a Nespresso machine multiple times a day for several years, this was pretty exciting for me to discover. And when TerraCycle offered to send my coffee-addicted self a new machine, well that was even more exciting. In case you’d like to know a little something about who gave your reviewer her machine (and/or are interested in recycling), let me quickly give you the rundown on what TerraCycle is. TerraCycle is a company dedicated to ‘eliminating the idea of waste’ by recycling things that are generally considered ‘non-recyclable’. They operate in 20 different countries including Australia, the US, Canada, the UK and France. In Australia, TerraCycle has recently partnered with Dolce Gusto to raise awareness about recycling coffee capsules. As mentioned in the post, I received a Dolce Gusto ‘Stelia’ machine from TerraCycle (Australia). You can find out more information about the coffee capsule recycling program on their website.

Recycling company TerraCycle has been trying to make a difference by teaming up with pod producing companies such as Nespresso. “We’re able to set up international platforms where you can send us the capsules, we pay you for shipping, we even give you a donation to your favourite school or charity for every capsule you send in and then we shred them,” explained TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky.

The former head of Nespresso, Jean-Paul Gaillard  is now claiming that coffee pods are killing the environment. If you do however want to stick with the Nespresso Pods, Lane Cove is lucky enough to have a place where they can be recycled.  Pureflowers has a Lane Cove recycling program for Nespresso capsules. Pureflowers is participating in a nationwide environmental program to help recycle coffee capsules. Nespresso has joined with recycling and upcycling experts TerraCycle Australia to expand their recycling program at additional collection points around the country at florists, garden centres and nurseries. Lane Cove residents can now recycle their used Nespresso capsules at no cost by visiting Pure Flowers and dropping their capsules (sealed in any plastic bag which will also be recycled) into the in-store recycling collection box.

Coffee companies like Nespresso are now teaming up with recycling company TerraCycle to recycle their pods. "We're able to set up international platforms where you can send us the capsules, we pay you for shipping, we even give you a donation to your favourite school or charity for every capsule you send in and then we shred them," TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky said.

MARGOT O'NEILL: Meanwhile Nespresso is trying to address a problem by partnering with recycling company, Terracycle. TOM SZAKY, CEO, TERRACYCLE: Through their funding we were able to set up national platforms where you can send us the capsules, we pay you for shipping, we even give you a donation to your favourite school or charity for every capsule you send in and then we shred them, we separate the organics and compost those, and then we take the metals, melt those into new metal products and the plastics into new plastic products. WRITING ON SCREEN: Terracycle says that 500,000 Australians are recycling coffee pods every day.

Enter global waste recycling innovator TerraCycle. TerraCycle is working with Nespresso on a new initiative. This will break down the aluminium in the pods for re-use. It lines up with Nespresso’s commitment to the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative for end-to-end reusability of the metal. Nespresso is paying the shipping cost to send used pods to the nearest TerraCycle collection station. It will work via NZ Post, another SBN member.

Recycling  is important to Roz Liddell but drinking coffee is not. Even so, when the Lodge Floral Studio owner received a letter from Nespresso asking if her boutique business in Waitara would like to become a collection point for people to recycle their coffee pods, she jumped at the chance. Nespresso began contacting garden centres and florists to ask if they'd become collection points. "I literally rang them that afternoon and said I'm in." Nespresso supplies the collection boxes, which each hold 20kg of pods. "These [boxes] are picked up by courier post. We get our pre-packs all sent with courier stickers so it doesn't cost us anything. They go to TerraCycle." About three boxes are filled each month at Lodge Floral Studio. Once they're sent away the elements of the capsules are separated and turned into garden furniture like chairs and garden bricks. "I've always thought before you throw something away, what can you do with it to reuse it or can you recycle it," she said.