Is recycling a touchy topic about Nespresso’s and Lavazza’s coffee pads?

In the domain of recycling, the aim of Nespresso is to facilitate as much as possible the collect of used coffee pads. However, the firm had to establish different ways according to the country. In Germany and Sweden, pads are considerated as household wastes and thrown with this kind of wastes. On the contrary, in most of European countries (like France, Spain, Belgium), Nespresso tries to collect and get back used pads to recycle them through a special system. To set up this system, Nespresso consumers can bring their used pads in Nespresso shops since 2008.

Nespresso had also improved in the recycling of the pads, particularly in France because small aluminium wastes are not always recycled (and are burnt): they create a system of magnet which permits to gather aluminium coffee pads but also small aluminium wastes (like cans). This way, consumers don’t have to bring their coffee pads to shops and can throw them with household wastes. This technical is implemented in few departments of France.

When coffee pads are collected in shops or special place, recycling starts with the separation of aluminium and the coffee grounds. Then, the last one is used to make compost and the aluminium is reused after becoming aluminium again.

By this way, Nespresso directly implies consumer in the recycling of the pads. The firm testes new system less restricting for customers and innovates by making consumer able to throw the pads with household wastes. But by getting back the coffee pads, the firm can send the used aluminium to specialized firms and earns money. This money represents 5% of the cost of this recycling system. And in an environmental way, recycling aluminium is more sustainable than the production of primary aluminium.

The main objective for Nespresso is to recycle 75% of sold pads in 2013.

On the other side, Lavazza proposes pads composed of aluminum, polyester and polyethylene which are not recycled neither reused. Those pads are burnt in incenerators.

In both case, one of the main brake in consuming coffee by pads is the ecological impact: indeed, coffee bean is really less pollutant than coffee pads.

Nespresso in particular is accused of greenwashing about the recycling.

The Ethical Coffee Company explained that Nespresso insists on the fact that they recycle pads so they reuse aluminium. However, in a global way, it is more pollutant recycling pads than just throwing them with other wastes. The Ethical Coffee Company wants the consumer be conscious that recycling includes also transporting pads to the right place, separating coffee grounds from aluminium... all those steps produce more CO2  than just burning pads.

The firm accuses Nespresso of greenwashing and challenges Nespresso to submit the pads to a strict control about recycling. The Company asks Nespresso to get the ADEME label which takes into account all the steps of recycling to calculate the generated CO2 and which guarantees that technical used by Nespresso is really positive in an environmental way.

In fact, Nespresso built up a strong communication strategy (called ECOLABORATION) about recycling whereas it is not a topic in Lavazza website: Does Nespresso want to hid the reality about its environmental impact?