Nespresso coffee capsules get a second life as recycled cups and saucers.
A few weeks ago I wrote about the coffee based batteries of Mischer'Traxler showcased at the 2010 Vienna Design Week. The Grand Crus Cup Parade (pictured above) is another inventive design to come from the same competition.
Designed by Dottings, these delicate coffee cups and saucers are made of recycled aluminum sourced from Nespresso coffee capsules. This design upcycles the original product into something new.
Dottings is an industrial design firm, creating products, lighting and objects for public spaces. Sofia Podreka and Katrin Radanitsch are the sole members of Dottings but they often work with other designers and specialists.
Evocative of the original Nespresso capsules in shape and color, Dottings intended for the set to be purchased via a point system. Consumers could earn points by returning used capsules to the company and in return purchase items such as the Grand Crus Cup Parade. The point system encourages users to recycle their waste while providing Nespresso with a source material of recycled aluminum for a new product line. Compared to the extraction and processing of new aluminum, recycling aluminum uses only a tenth of the energy.
Although this design is both beautiful and functional, it seems that Nespresso is still ignoring a larger problem of creating a disposable product made from a valuable resource. It would be nice to see the same inventiveness used in this competition applied to less wasteful solutions for Nespresso.
Images via Dezeen
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