One of my lifelong evolving passion has been to make small positive changes every day in order to lead a simpler and more fulfilled life. These small changes are driven by the need to connect with the physicality of my surroundings – the earth, the air, the water, the trees, the birds and the bees. It is a work in progress in a bid to waste less, reuse and recycle more and finding purpose in spent things in order to stretch the boundaries of our sustainability a bit more.
There is a place for everything old and new in your life, the question is whether you can come up with enough creative ways to make it slip and slide into place like a well-oiled machine. It starts with my cup of morning coffee, a ritual that awakens and energises with a brand that is completely aligned with my philosophy of small positive changes to make a big impact – Nespresso.
And it weaves into my daily in the kitchen scraps that become compost, the cardboard parcel boxes that line the bottom of my veggie beds, the old used wheels of my car that form a potato growing tower, old milk cans that become bird feeders, yoghurt past expiry that becomes a face mask and used grounds that become a homemade coffee scrub.
At Nespresso, sustainability is at the heart of everything they do right from the fair trade coffee beans sourced, nurturing and upholding coffee farming communities to trying to reduce the carbon footprint of their coffees by recycling their aluminium coffee capsules. And this is where we come in as consumers. Nespresso offers a variety of ways for people to recycle their used 100% infinitely recycled coffee capsules and it is our job as a conscientious consumer to join in their efforts to do our part. I am so pleased to be partnering with Nespresso for National Recycling Week from November 13th-19th this year and help spread the word about recycling their coffee capsules.
In Australia, we can do one of the following to recycle our used Nespresso coffee capsules.
- Post your used capsules back to Nespresso using a special Australia Post satchel
- Return your used aluminium capsules to a Nespresso Boutique
- Drop them off at a participating collection point. My closest collection point is a gorgeous flower shop a short drive from home. We usually go for a quick drive through a beautiful gorge to drop off our used capsules and pick up a fresh bunch of flowers for the home. You can find your closest recycling collection point here.
- Participate in one of our bulk recycling collection initiatives where workplaces or community locations can become a recycling collection point
Once collected, the aluminium capsules are repurposed to create more capsules and everyday items like Swiss army knives, ladders, bicycles, tongs or window frames. The used grounds are repurposed as fertiliser for farms and vineyards as they are rich in nutrients and also as biofuel to power buses.
A few times a year instead of dropping off my coffee capsule recycling, I like to get creative with the used coffee grounds. I scoop the used grounds from the Nespresso capsules and make a gorgeous Coffee Chocolate Face Polish that smells like the most delicious Jaffa Cake. (And tastes like it too!) I also make a Coffee Coconut Body Scrub that is one of my favourite bath time indulgences. I use simple pantry ingredients to make the face polish and body scrub. The quantities are enough to last you a couple of months. Some of the empty coffee capsules are repurposed in my garden to grown little veggie seedlings or succulents from cuttings. The rest are dropped off at my nearest Nespresso coffee capsule collection centre.
I hope you enjoy these homemade beauty recipes. I urge you to try them, just make a small batch this week and indulge yourself in the shower with your favourite candle and some mood music. It is amazing how just 15 minutes of simple me-time like this can feel like a luxurious day at the spa and the feel good hormones released can bring you hours of content and joy. They also make excellent little presents for your girlfriends! Let me know if you make these scrubs by commenting/rating below, I would love to find out about your experience! Enjoy! Sneh x
Recipe
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Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons Nespresso coffee grounds
- 2 tablespoons cacao powder
- 2 tablespoons macadamia oil
- grated zest of 1 orange
Instructions
- Make - Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. The mixture will resemble mud. Scoop the face polish in a clean glass jar (150ml) and secure the lid. The face polish will keep well in a cool corner of your bathroom for a couple of months. Alternatively, store in the fridge.
- Use – Take a tablespoon of the polish in the palm of your hand. Gently apply to damp face, rubbing in a gentle circular motion from your neck and chin up to the forehead. Leave on for 10-15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with first warm and then cool water. Pat dry. Repeat once a week for a soft, glowing skin.
- Health Benefits – Both coffee and cacao have antioxidants that help fight signs of ageing. Coffee has anti-inflammatory properties that soothe skin inflammation, reducing rosacea, dark circles under the eyes and signs of UV damage. Cacao contains omega 6 fatty acids that help heal wounds and lighten scars, maintain the elasticity of skin by providing hydration and increased blood flow. Macadamia oil is the closest match to the naturally occurring sebum in our skin, it repairs the skin cells and moisturises skin without causing breakouts. The orange tightens the skin and refreshes it.
Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 cup Nespresso Coffee grounds
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup unrefined coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Make - To make the body scrub, mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Make sure that the coconut oil is not in liquid form, but rather a softer solid state. If your coconut oil is rock hard, warm it up gently and then allow to cool till it starts becoming solid again. It should have the consistency of room temperature butter. Gently rub the coconut oil into the other ingredients with your fingertips to form a dry-ish paste. Scoop in a lidded glass jar (300ml) and store in a cool corner of your bathroom for a couple of months.
- Use – Take a big scoop of the scrub in the palm of your hand. Gently apply to damp body, rubbing in a gentle circular motion from your feet up to your neck. Rinse off in the shower. Pat dry. Repeat once a week for a soft, glowing skin. Make sure you run hot water down the drain of the shower after you have finished to ensure that the coffee and coconut oil doesn’t clog up your drain.
- Health Benefits – Coffee tightens the skin and reduces cellulite with repeated use. It improves blood circulation. Coconut sugar acts as a gentle natural exfoliant, making the skin softer by removing the dead cells. Bot coconut oil and cinnamon have antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. They help clear acne. Coconut oil helps soften and hydrate skin. Cinnamon helps lighten blemishes and alleviate fine lines.
note - This post was sponsored by Nespresso. I created these beauty recipes for the Recycling week collaboration. Nespresso is a brand I have been using for many years and all musings and opinions are my own.
wow, I really like this article. Keep it up
This would make an excellent present for family and friends, especially if it lasts for a couple of months. Thanks for the recipes.
Nice post, Thanks for sharing this easiest face polish.
With the craze of coffee scrubs, this is so easy to make on your own!