This Bicycle Is Made With 300 Recycled Nespresso Capsules

Mike Pomranz

For Nespresso diehards, the spoils of their daily coffee ritual is a continuous stream of aluminum-based, single-serve capsules. Though Nespresso's official stance is that users should recycle these capsules with pre-paid UPS recycling bags, by stopping into one of 88,000 UPS drop-off locations, or by returning them to select Nespresso retailers, the coffee giant has recently presented a different, slightly more labor-intensive option: You can turn them into a bicycle.

Nespresso
Nespresso

With the help of Vélosophy, a Swedish start-up that specializes in making bicycles from recycled aluminum, Nespresso has revealed "Re:cycle" — a bike built using Nespresso aluminum coffee capsules, "designed to illustrate the potential of recyclable aluminum and motivate Nespresso fans to recycle their used capsules," the company states. A Nespresso spokesperson says that each bike contains the aluminum from approximately 300 capsules. (Feel free to use that stat as your next cocktail party conversation starter.)

Beyond simply being made from old capsules, the Re:cycle comes with other Nespresso flourishes as well. The bike is bright purple "as a nod to Nespresso's popular Arpeggio coffee," and the bell is in the shape of a Nespresso capsule. Additionally, the front carrying basket has two cup holders, making it that much easier to take your coffee with you on the go. A "limited quantity" of the bicycles is currently on sale at Vélosophy.cc, priced at €1,290 (about $1,433) plus shipping.

Nespresso
Nespresso

"We created Vélosophy with a clear purpose: to have a positive impact on the world," Jimmy Ostholm, CEO and Founder of Vélosophy. "I see in Nespresso a strong commitment to sustainability, which is why this has been a dream partnership. We are proud to have co-created a bike that takes on the future. It is beautifully designed, responsibly sourced and sustainably produced."

Meanwhile, Vélosophy isn't the only company that's been collaborating with Nespresso recently. If you're more interested in the coffee side of things, Starbucks joined the Nespresso line up this past May. And this week, Peet's Coffee announced the addition of its first decaf capsule for the system, Decaffeinato Ristretto, citing recent 65-percent growth in Nespresso capsule sales as their reason for expanding their offerings with the brand.