Sort by
Sort by

Nespresso helps advance New York City recycling through City curbside program

Nespresso capsules

Starting today, on America Recycles Day, Nespresso, the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), and Sims Municipal Recycling (SMR) encourage New Yorkers to recycle their Nespresso coffee capsules and other lightweight aluminum items through the City’s curbside program. New Yorkers can now recycle all small aluminum products in the same recycling bin as they do plastic, glass, and other materials. This initiative makes it possible for even more of these articles to take on a second life and eventually transform into new products, such as automotive parts and soda cans.

Earlier in 2019, Nespresso committed USD 1.2 million to improve the recovery of small aluminum and better allow for the curbside recycling of its coffee capsules in New York City. In most cities, the size and light weight of such items, including foil and house keys, require that they be divided from other mixed metals using special equipment. With this program, SMR invested in new technology to better sort and capture these articles, increasing the efficacy of the City’s recycling system.

"We make our capsules from aluminum because it’s a fully recyclable metal and it is an excellent material for preserving the quality of our coffee," said Guillaume Le Cunff, President and CEO of Nespresso USA. "We are constantly innovating to make recycling easier for Nespresso customers and to contribute new solutions to all recycling challenges, and we’re excited to help improve recovery in New York City and lessen the amount of all kinds of aluminum in our landfills today."

This collaboration with DSNY and SMR supports New York City’s Zero Waste initiative. It has the potential to reduce the 43,000 tons of aluminum foil and other mixed metals that currently end up in local landfills each year.

Read the full press release