Coffee Without the Guilt – How to Recycle Your Nespresso Coffee Capsules in Qatar

Like many of you, I love my coffee. One of the first things I fire up in the morning (besides the snooze button) is my Nespresso machine to prime myself for the day ahead. But also like many of you, I’ve been wondering what impact this addiction was having on the environment.

Much has been said and written about single use capsules or pods with calls to ban them. while the debate has been raging, Nespresso has been quietly doing its bit to reduce the impact of these convenient caffeine hits.

The basis of this is a robust recycling program it has rolled out around the world with 123,000 collection points around the globe.

Nespresso capsules are made from aluminium – a naturally-occurring metal and is infinitely recyclable. An estimated 75 percent of all aluminium ever produced is still in use today.  The recycled capsules go back into the aluminium value chain, where they are recycled into a range of uses – such as car engines, bicycles, computers, drink cans and new capsules.

Or even pen knives – the former Girl Guide in me loves this!

The coffee grounds are also re-used to create nutrient-rich compost or green energy depending on the country and the facilities available.

But what about Qatar – where recycling efforts across the board are still what we would call, fledgling?

I reached out to Nespresso Qatar to see what kind of recycling options are available here and I’m happy to report there is a homegrown, easy to access system in place.

It really is as easy as buying the capsules.

You can visit any of the three Nespresso boutiques in Qatar – at The Pearl Qatar,  Blue Salon and their newest one at Doha Festival City and collect one of their special re-sealable recycling bags – I have started to keep mine near the coffee machine at home as a reminder to do the right thing.

Each bag can hold 200 capsules (that’s about two weeks in our house!) You can then bring the bag to the store on your next visit or hand it over with your next delivery order.

But what happens next?

Working with Gulf Contracting in Qatar, using a specially adapted machine the capsules are cleaned and the coffee grounds separated before they are shredded. The empty capsules are separated and sent outside Qatar to be recycled into new aluminium items.

Meanwhile the coffee – well this is the really cool thing, it gets sent to the Doha Golf Club for use as compost. Golfers – think about that next time you tee off!

At the moment Nespresso Qatar customers are recycling thousands of their capsules each month – but they can do more and that is up to you, the customer.

You can find out more about recycling program by calling the Nespresso Club  on 800 0888 or clicking here. 

Happy drinking!

*This post was a collaboration with Nespresso Qatar. You can read my disclaimer here.

**Updated to include new Nespresso Boutique at Doha Festival City