British Glass is disappointed with the feature from BBC One’s Morning Live focusing on the use of a paper bottle in place of glass in the wine market.
While we appreciate the need for brands to lower their carbon emissions, doing so with packaging that falls outside of the circular economy and focuses on short term wins is not the way forward.
The glass industry is working hard to reduce our own environmental impact in line with British Glass’ net zero strategy which sets out the route to eliminating carbon emissions in the glass industry by 2050 through the use of alternative fuels and renewable electricity in the manufacturing process.
Glass bottles do not require any separation of the label or cap by the consumer to be recycled, in fact the cap can be left on and recovered as part of the recycling process. Glass bottles are also 100% recyclable and are both easily and widely recycled via traditional methods, either at home or via bottle banks, with recycled glass forming a key part of the manufacturing process to reduce both the energy and raw materials needed, and the carbon emissions created in the making new bottles and jars.
While the outer carboard sleeve of the paper bottle is recyclable but relying on the consumer to disassemble prior to recycling, the inner plastic pouch is not recyclable via current at home collection methods in the UK leading to more plastic heading to landfill, entering our environment and contaminating existing recycling collections, which is not the case with a glass wine bottle that is easily recycled in the existing recycling system.
British Glass is firm in its belief that glass bottles remain the best packaging option for the wine industry both today and in a more sustainable future.
