Nespresso Lights is a concept for a sustainable, resuable solution to spent Nespresso coffee cups that can be carried out individual customers. This concept has been sitting lonely and forgotten on my computer for quite sometime, but the recent wedding of a certain celebrity spokesman in Venice promoted me to upload it. :-)

1. Nespresso Lights
© mauro forcolin

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Problem
A major problem with managing used Nespresso capsules is that they cannot be properly processed by the standard municipal recycling methods which require the separation of material prior to arriving to the recycling depot.
Used capsules must be sent to landfills as regular waste. The coffee grounds are still encased in the capsule, making it difficult for them to degrade properly.
If the coffee grounds and capsules can be separated, the empty capsules can be recycled as normal aluminum. Coffee grounds on the other hand are still sent to landfill. Although entirely biodegradable, they still take up space on landfill already stressed in coping with huge amounts of refuse.
Introducing a process to at a municipal level to separate and deal with the component parts of Nespresso capsules would be slow and expensive to initiate. And since there may be municipalities that do not have the capabilities to put such a process in place, at most, the solution would have a patchy coverage.
It would be much more efficient to introduce the solution at the consumer level where the empty containers are generated as no new common infrastructure would be required and only the Nespresso customers would need to contribute.
Nespresso Customers
Nespresso is a cut above the standard home-brewed coffee. It is intended for a discerning group who enjoy café style coffee - with its numerous flavors and high quality - at home. Nespresso allows them to achieve this with minimal time, effort and space. The Nespresso machines themselves are sleek and to compliment the coffee, they themselves are a cut above standard home coffee makers in both form and function.
But part of the romance of having such quality coffee available in one’s home is the ability to recreate the café ideal in the home; a relaxing, cozy retreat from which to forget the stress and strains of daily life. The branding of Nespresso coffee is not about the quick caffeine fix while heading out the door; rather it is about taking the time to savor and enjoy both the coffee and the moment.
To enhance the moment, Nespresso drinkers can alter their environment to heighten the sense of the moment. As Nespresso already provides the taste and smell, the drinker can alter the sound perhaps by relaxing music, and sight by altering the lighting.
One of the easiest ways instill a comfortable, intimate atmosphere is through candles; in particular tea candles. These are cheap, small candles in aluminum trays which are usually inserted into colored glass holders or for vaporizing aromatic oils. Once consumed, the aluminum trays can be recycled like regular aluminum.
The environmental awareness of Nespresso drinkers is no different from non-Nespresso drinkers in the same age, wage and education demographic. As most people in Europe will go out of their way to recycle and separate their rubbish accordingly, it is assumed Nespresso drinkers would have at least the same dedication.

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Technical Solution: Nespresso Lights
Used Nespresso capsules can be converted into tea candles which burn dried coffee-grounds mixed with paraffin wax.
Once the perforated aluminum cover has been removed, the coffee-grounds can be extracted and dried. The empty, thin aluminum capsule can then be pressed into a tea-candle holder shape. The coffee-grounds and wax - shaped to best stimulate long, controlled combustion – can be pressed into the aluminum candle holder.
All of this can be done at the consumers home using a machine of the same approximate size and sophistication of the Nespresso coffee machines, or the functionality can be integrated into the coffee machines themselves.
Using coffee an alternative to normal candles is both clean and efficient:
Burning coffee has about 25% more energy than wood and triple the flame per unit of energy. One coffee-based wood alternative on the market today produces 96% less residue after combustion, 85% less carbon monoxide, 86% less creosote deposits, 31% less particulate matter.
-http://www.37signals.com/svn/archives2/java_log_the_greener_fireplace.php
The only additional requirement is small amounts of paraffin wax.
Concept
Nespresso Lights allows drinkers to use the by-products of producing coffee to create their visual environment as desired.
By turning the used capsules and coffee grounds into tea candles, Nespresso drinkers can directly add to the enjoyment of the coffee. Once the coffee grounds have been burned away, the remaining candle holder can be placed with other aluminum recycling.
The Nespresso brand can be extended beyond the coffee to the environment itself; In addition to the distinctive taste, there can now be a distinctive light co-branded to create the “Nespresso moment”.
This aligns perfectly with the image Nespresso tries to portray:
The word "espresso" comes from the Italian "esprimere", which means "to express". This refers to the process by which hot water is forced under pressure through ground coffee. The exclusive system of unique coffee capsules together with innovative machine technology enables Nespresso to capture all the character of a coffee and produce a genuine, high-quality espresso every time. By employing the natural senses of sight, smell, taste and touch, you can enjoy a rich and intense sensory experience and discover Nespresso – coffee, body and soul.
- http://www.nespresso.com/precom/n_art_ch_en.html
As such, Nespresso Lights should not be branded as a separate product or distinguished in any way; consumers should see them as part of the Nespresso coffee experience. The machine to create the Nespresso-Lights should be available as the regular Nespresso coffee machines, and have the same distinctive styling to allude that they are linked. In higher models where candle production functionality can be integrated directly into the coffee machine, this link be completely fused

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The marketing for Nespresso Lights should integrate directly with existing Nespresso campaign:
Nespresso. What more? Alluding to the addition of the visual element to the brand
Nespresso. What less? Highlighting the reduced waste from capsule waste
Nespresso. What else?
It can also be targeted along with the Nespresso Variations print campaign.
By not mentioning the Nespresso Lights by name, they will be become part of the overall Nespresso ideal.
Nespresso Lights should be an integral part of the product range at Nespresso bars and vendors, and should be a vehicle for promoting additional Nespresso-branded products related to Nespresso Lights:
Paraffin wax that is required to encase the coffee-grounds to make a functioning candle, would be included in the purchase of Nespresso coffee.
Tea- candle holders of differing colors and styles
Aromatic oils and holders that can be heated and evaporated using Nespresso Lights
Nespresso bars should create Nespresso Lights as a result of the coffee cups they brew and make them available to the customers.
With such a strategy, a customer entering a Nespresso bar or vendor is automatically surrounded by the coffee and candle products and intuitively links them together as one theme.
Practical aspects
Naturally, the amount of tea-candles a customer uses may not equal the amount of Nespresso that they drink. In most cases, the number of tea candles needed for personal use will be much lower than coffee cups drunk.
Rather than force users to only make tea candles, the Nespresso-Lights machine would also allow the simple separation of aluminum and coffee grounds during the drying process used to make the candles. The empty capsule can be placed in the aluminum recycling and the coffee grounds can be discarded or put to other common uses, such as garden fertilizer or abrasive cleaners.
But these uses are more difficult to promote in a large way because they assume more about the customer, such as the presence and interest in plants or the willingness to modify and use coffee grounds instead of available products.
Nevertheless, this option drives the customer to get in the habit of running the candle making process – whether integrated into the coffee machine or using a separate candle machine - after making a cup of coffee, whether they wish to produce a candle or not.

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Integrating into the “Nespresso…What else?” Campaign

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Integrating into the “Nespresso Variations” Campaign

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Blade for removing
capsule lid
coffee
grounds Repository for
drying coffee-grounds
and
adding
paraffin wax
Spent
Nespresso
capsule
Press for shaping
empty capsule
Press for shaping
dried coffee-grounds
and
paraffin wax
Step 1:
The spent Nespresso capsule is placed in the
machine upside down
Step 2:
The capsule lid is removed and stored to be recycled
The coffee grounds are vibrated out of the capsule and into the
repository
Step 3:
The empty capsule is pressed into a tea-candle shape is removed and
stored to be recycled.
The coffee grounds are dried and paraffin wax added
Step 4:
The empty tea-candle holder falls to the bottom where the treated
coffee grounds are added
Step 5:
The coffee grounds are pressed into an optimal shape for long,
controlled combustion
Step 6:
ENJOY!
Nespresso Lights manufacturing process:
6 steps to capture the Nespresso Moment