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AIBU?

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Original poster

to find Nespresso's new recycling process infuriating?

82 replies

Sausagenbacon · 14/05/2024 09:56

It used to be that you'd bag the spent capsules up, and they would collect, or you could return them to the store.
My local store has now closed, and the collection system is really difficult to master - I haven't managed it yet.
So, they can paint themselves as environmentally-friendly, but do bugger all.

Plus, they make it difficult/impossible to complain, apart from talking to a robot.

I know this is a 1st world problem, but I felt the need to vent.

OP posts:
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Original poster
Sausagenbacon · 20/05/2024 06:37

About the rubber seal...when you take the coffee out, at the base is a thin rubbery layer. I don't want to go to the effort of using the ecopress, if this layer makes it unrecyclabe.
I do agree with the poster above about nespresso's green credentials (or lack of) but the bottom line is I have the machine, and like the coffee. It wouldn't be very green to dispose of the machine.

OP posts:
Grasshopper7 · 19/05/2024 20:25

I completely agree. It irritates me daily. I still haven't used the new system and have 3 user bags cluttering up the place

LizzieBennett73 · 19/05/2024 20:21

Another Grind customer here. Really like their pods and they just go in with the normal food waste.

Clearinguptheclutter · 19/05/2024 20:15

OSU · 14/05/2024 10:18

Same as you OP. Given the aluminium is recyclable easily enough, I get the pods after use and gouge out the coffee with a teaspoon (vertuo) and put the coffee in the compost heap and the pod in the recycling bin at home.

Thads what we do too

Noseyoldcow · 19/05/2024 20:11

We have a bean to cup machine. Makes better coffee than the Nespresso (we think so anyway) and waste goes on the compost and/or straight out the flower beds. We get the beans from Costco.

IcedPurple · 19/05/2024 20:07

From what I've read, the 'recycling' is mostly greenwashing.

The structure of those little Nespresso pods means that cleaning them is very energy intensive. So more energy would be used 'recycling' them than if you had just added them to land fill. Nespresso know that their pods have a terrible reputation for being unsustainable, so they push the 'recycling' thing even though it's really just for show.

I like Nespresso, but I don't think there's any getting around the fact that it's an extremely wasteful way to drink coffee.

AhBiscuits · 19/05/2024 19:50

Misthios · 14/05/2024 10:10

You need one of these, they're brilliant

https://www.dualit.com/products/ecopress-aluminium-capsule-recycler

it separates the metal from the coffee inside, then you rinse the metal bit and put it in the standard metal recycling bin, the used coffee in the food waste or on the garden.

This is what I do. The grounds get scattered at the allotment and the metal in normal recycling.

Lucylaughing · 19/05/2024 19:48

@Sausagenbacon I tend to use the official Nespresso ones and I don't think they have a rubber seal? What brand are you using?

Misthios · 17/05/2024 12:25

I have to admit I am not the person who deals with this in my house, it's a teenage DS job. He says not all brands have the wee rubber seals, if he comes across any he just chucks them in the bin. But they don't stop the press working.

Original poster
Sausagenbacon · 17/05/2024 12:04

That's useful to know, I'll do that. Have you any thoughts about the rubber seal?

OP posts:
Lucylaughing · 17/05/2024 09:44

The only problem with the ecopress (I did have one previously) is that the individual capsules are too small for the recycling sorting process. They literally fall through the gaps in the sorting machines and won't be recycled if you put them in individually. This is partly why drinks manufacturers are moving to tethered caps on bottles - it makes sure more plastic actually reaches where it needs to go as the little bits get lost.

You need to make sure you stack the capsules into a sausage shape and squash them so they stay stuck together. Or you can wrap them in tin foil to make a bigger shape. I found this, along with the emptying and rinsing, too much faff. I'm back to using the bags and sending them off.

Elieza · 17/05/2024 09:43

I have the larger Vertuo pods and just use a knife to separate the grinds from the foil and recycle both.

It would be good to have a device that did it for me though as I am starting to get arthritis.

Has anyone seen one for that size of pod?

Caerulea · 17/05/2024 09:37

Also don't appreciate how the delivery is now £4.95 for 1-2 days when it used to be free. Having now seen the new recycling faff via royal mail I'm done with vertuo, it's not like I can use a different brand of pod.

not4profit · 17/05/2024 09:19

Sausagenbacon · 16/05/2024 14:43

So, using the ecopress, I see there are rubber seals on the base of the pods. Do you think they need to be removed?

I would like to know the answer to this as well, if anyone can help?

Original poster
Sausagenbacon · 16/05/2024 22:40

No

OP posts:
MumbleOrange · 16/05/2024 17:38

Does the ecopress take the larger vertuo capsules?

CreamOrJamFirst · 16/05/2024 14:44

It is sooo annoying. They used to pick up the bag when they delivered the new ones. Easy easy. No store near me.

Original poster
Sausagenbacon · 16/05/2024 14:43

So, using the ecopress, I see there are rubber seals on the base of the pods. Do you think they need to be removed?

OP posts:
Needanadultgapyear · 16/05/2024 12:45

My postie positively encourages me to use him for sending the pods back as a rural postie every tiny thing keeps his round economically viable.

Original poster
Sausagenbacon · 16/05/2024 12:36

My ecopress has just arrived. Thank you for the suggestion, it's just the job.

OP posts:
TheSnakeCharmer · 15/05/2024 17:24

lovelifeat40 · 14/05/2024 10:20

Brilliant, just ordered one, thanks for the tip 😍

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I was just going to suggest this. We have one. It's great. Coffee grits used on the garden.

not4profit · 15/05/2024 17:20

Thank you all - I have also lost my local Nespresso drop off point in John Lewis so I've ordered a dualit gadget. My husband is delighted he is desperate to get his hands on the grounds for his compost!

Countrylife2002 · 14/05/2024 22:18

They stopped picking up from me (I had to chase all the time) so I switched to grind which are compostable. I don’t use food waste collection except for this . Grind say they can go in food waste.
I used another brand and put them in my compost and now I’m forever picking them out so I’m not doing that again!

Nacknick · 14/05/2024 22:15

Misthios · 14/05/2024 10:10

You need one of these, they're brilliant

https://www.dualit.com/products/ecopress-aluminium-capsule-recycler

it separates the metal from the coffee inside, then you rinse the metal bit and put it in the standard metal recycling bin, the used coffee in the food waste or on the garden.

Good grief that’s an over engineered piece of kit…!

i just let them dry out, run a knife round the foil and empty them into the food waste 🤷‍♀️

Jungfraujoch · 14/05/2024 22:06

Misthios · 14/05/2024 18:18

Which might suit some people, but not everyone can be in for the window collection time the post office give you.

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I just leave the recycling bag on the doorstep for the postie! Don’t need to be at home.