The Milan City Council at Palazzo Marino has approved the guidelines for a programme agreement between the Municipality, Amsa, Nespresso Italiana and the National Aluminium Packaging Consortium (CIAL) to launch the first pilot project for the home collection of used aluminium coffee capsules. This initiative is the result of a virtuous public-private partnership that effectively enhances the separate collection service for urban waste.
The collection service will begin in September 2025 and will be available throughout the Municipality of Milan. It can be activated when placing a new order of capsules on the Nespresso.it website at the checkout stage by selecting the option “Return and recycle your used Nespresso capsules”. It will also be available via the app and customer service, with no additional cost. Customers will be able to hand over a maximum of two bags containing only used aluminium capsules to the courier, using either the Nespresso recycling bag or regular bags.
The aim of the initiative — which may also be joined by other companies producing and marketing coffee or other infusion capsules by signing the same agreement — is to further improve the aluminium recovery process from a circular economy perspective. As aluminium is infinitely recyclable, this contributes significantly to reducing waste sent for disposal. The service will also optimise transport and reduce the environmental impact of logistics through the use of electric vehicles in partnership with WORA Delivery, allowing the capsules to be delivered to an intermediate storage point before being processed at a facility that separates the aluminium from the coffee.
The collected capsules will be integrated into the dedicated aluminium capsule collection and recycling system “From Bean to Bean” ("Da Chicco a Chicco"), developed since 2011 through a memorandum of understanding between Nespresso, CIAL, Utilitalia and CIC (Italian Composting Consortium). This system gives a second life to the two materials that make up the capsule: the aluminium is melted down and 100% recycled, while the leftover coffee is transformed into compost and used in a rice field from which rice is then purchased and donated to Banco Alimentare and the Progetto Arca Foundation.
This project launching in Milan is a pilot initiative that complements the existing possibility of returning used aluminium capsules at Nespresso boutiques and participating recycling centres. Since 2011, this initiative has led to the collection of over 12,000 tonnes of capsules nationwide.
