Coffee is a big business. The world's population drinks around 3.5 billion cups of coffee every day, according to a 2017 research paper. But your cup of joe is responsible for a large amount of waste too -- starting from the farm all the way to the cafe.
Big players in the coffee industry, concerned by the enormous impact they are having on the world's environment, have been compelled to act. Recently, Starbucks launched reusable hot and cold cups in Thai stores in a bid to reduce its environmental footprint and positively impact the communities it serves. The initiative was introduced to mark Earth Day last month as well as to encourage the reuse of coffee containers. According to Starbucks, an estimated 600 billion paper and plastic cups are distributed annually around the world.
Nespresso has also been at the forefront of sustainable development in Thailand. Since 2017, the Nespresso capsule recycle campaign has been encouraging consumers to bring used aluminium coffee capsules to Nespresso boutiques and Nespresso machine sales counters. The goal is that by 2020, 100% of used capsules will be recycled.
Used Nespresso capsules are recycled by Wongpanit, a leading waste management and recycling company with branches in many provinces. The aluminium is first cleaned to remove the coffee, then the capsules are fed into a machine to again separate aluminium and any remaining coffee traces. The aluminium is then melted down and made into new products and containers.
Meanwhile, the coffee grounds are used as natural fertilisers for vegetable plantations, as they contain high levels of nitrogen, which make them particularly suitable for leafy vegetables such as morning glory, kale, Chinese bok choi and chives. The coffee grounds are delivered to various vegetable farms in Phitsanulok province where they are then distributed to Tiwaphan farm and the farm in Wing 46 Air Force Base.
Nespresso also gives away recycling bags for consumers to put their used capsules in and drop them off at Nespresso outlets nationwide.
For more information about the campaign, visit http://nespresso.com/th/th/how-to-recycle-coffee-capsules or facebook.com/Nespresso.thailand. For more details about Starbucks reusable cups, visit http://facebook.com/StarbucksThailand.
