SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – In a move that blends environmental consciousness with consumer engagement, Kakao, the South Korean internet giant, announced on September 2 a collaborative effort with Nespresso to breathe new life into used coffee capsules.
The initiative, dubbed the Coffee Capsule Upcycling Encore Project, is set to run through Kakao Makers, the company’s on-demand production platform.
This year’s project marks the second iteration of a program designed to involve consumers directly in the recycling process of coffee capsules. The decision to relaunch the initiative comes on the heels of enthusiastic participation in last year’s campaign, according to Kakao officials.
From now until September 9, interested participants can register for the program through the Kakao Makers website. In an inclusive approach to sustainability, the collection effort will accept aluminum coffee capsules regardless of brand, broadening the scope of the recycling initiative beyond Nespresso’s products.
The collected capsules will undergo a recycling process, transforming the aluminum into new products that will be sold on the Kakao Makers platform. Kakao has pledged to donate all proceeds from these sales to initiatives supporting children and environmental causes.
To incentivize participation, Kakao Makers is offering all participants a 5,000 won mobile voucher for Nespresso Club credits.
Additionally, 500 lucky participants, chosen randomly, will receive a special upcycled aluminum Ryan & Choonsik keyring made from recycled coffee capsules, featuring Kakao’s popular cartoon characters.
The inaugural Coffee Capsule Upcycling Project, which ran for eight months starting in September of last year, saw impressive engagement with 30,000 participants.
The campaign successfully collected a total of 3.52 million coffee capsules, weighing in at 32,500 kilograms.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)