Nestle’s Nespresso to start selling recyclable paper-based coffee pods

Nestle's Nespresso is introducing a new kind of coffee pod capsules that are paper-based compostables. The coffee company said that it created this type of coffee pod to appeal to more customers who are wary of climate change and only use environmentally-friendly products.

Moreover, Nespresso said that the new paper-based capsules are for those who are put off by foods packaged in plastics and the company’s usual aluminum material. Although Nestle made sure that the consumers can recycle them, they still end up in landfills thus, it came up with new packaging for the coffee pods.

As per Reuters, Nespresso’s chief executive officer, Guillaume Le Cunff, said that only a small number of their customers know that the aluminum material in the capsules is recyclable, so they decided to make a packaging that people will find more comfortable with. The CEO suggested that this was how they came up with the compressed paper pulp pods.

Then again, Le Cunff told the publication through an interview that the goal for the launch of the paper coffee pods is not to replace the aluminum ones but only to offer more choices to consumers. He explained that this is only an alternative to sustainable options since people can recycle both Nespresso's aluminum and paper coffee pods.

"Our 40 years of experience in coffee systems allowed us, together with the Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences, to develop a home compostable paper-based capsule, retro-compatible with the Nespresso Original machines, that meets and exceeds the high expectations consumers have of Nespresso in terms of protecting the coffee's aromas and taste,” Nestlé System Technology Center’s head, Julia Lauricella, said in a press release for the launch of the paper-based coffee pod capsules for Nespresso brews.

She added, “We combined a high-precision paper pulp forming process with a biodegradable layer for protection against oxidation to preserve our coffee in transport, storage and during the high-pressure extraction in our machines."

Finally, Huhtamaki product packaging company is one of Nespresso’s partners in the development of its new paper-based coffee pods.