Left to right: Alex Shuert, Evan Klug, Sarah Waterson, Dean Rigoni, with Rich Crawford, GPI Chairman, at O-I University.

The first place winner of GPI’s 2010/2011 Glass Packaging Design Competition at Michigan State University School of Packaging is the student team of Evan Klug, Dean Rigoni, Alex Shuert, and Sarah Waterson for their Nature’s Sun glass beverage packaging.

The winning team incorporated a tree design to create a unique glass package for an organic apple or orange juice. The competition among nearly 50 student teams of four is the 5^th glass bottle design competition at MSU. According to their entry, “the most important feature of this product is the glass itself. Choosing glass allows us to design a product that has more options.” The clear glass bottle, 100% recyclability, and custom shape give the brand shelf advantage. “Overall, we believe our product will excite the consumer as soon as they see it on the shelf. It’s fun, innovative, and eco-friendly.”

“The great thing about this competition is that we had close to 200 students thinking about the positive attributes of glass as a packaging material,” Says Rick Bayer, GPI’s Academic Subcommittee Chair. The students spent well over a month, three lectures a week, talking about glass, so they became very familiar with all aspects of glass packaging during the competition.

The top five entries from each of the two semesters were included in the final judging. The top ten were then judged by representatives from Anchor Glass, Verallia, O-I, Vitro, and Diageo. “The winning design goes a long way towards communicating by structure what the product was all about,” says Dennis Young, MSU Instructor. “We emphasize creativity and innovation, and they did a really good job.”

A model of the winning design was created by Anchor Glass, and will be displayed at the MSU packaging building alongside the other winning designs. “As we point out,” says Young, “it’s a wonderful thing to put on their resume. The competition is beginning to be recognized in the industry because a lot of people come through here and see the models. And also the packaging graduates that participated in the competition are now working with companies that use glass.”

First place winners receive enrollment at O-I’s Glass University, an engraved glass plaque, and a Best Buy gift card. “Glass University is a great experience for the students to be around glass producers and users, a great learning experience and opportunity for them to make contacts for the future,” says Rick Bayer.

“We appreciate so much getting the support and interest from GPI,” says Young. “Anything we can do to connect the classroom with what happens in the glass packaging industry is critically important to the education process and for the students and their future careers.”

In response to the U.S. EPA’s request for comments, the Glass Packaging Institute and its member companies responded with specific request for changes to the report. In addition to comments focused on the energy and emissions benefits of using recycled glass, the GPI asked the EPA to consider including the use of industry data for recycled content, distinguishing between closed-loop recycling and diversion, and examining the effectiveness of current recycling collection systems for recovering materials. Here are the details:

• Consider the inclusion of industry data to further improve the validity of recovery rates of recyclables reported and to help verify already collected data.

• Split the current “recovery” section into two distinct reporting categories. The first one would be designated “closed loop recycling,” and the rate would be based upon the glass actually reused in the manufacture of a new product, such as a container. The second one would be designated “diversion,” and recycled glass included in this section would be that used for lower value one-time uses, such as landfill cover or for use in roadbed aggregate. This would supply the glass industry with more accurate data on what is being beneficially recycled.

• In addition, the GPI has asked that the report examine the type of collection system used to gather the recyclables, and have requested that a specific recovery rate be issued for each of the major types of collection systems. Again, this is an attempt to make known which systems are most effective in recovering material for eventual re-use in the manufacture of a new product, versus that being used in one-time, lower value applications.

• Make the report annual, rather than being issued every two years.

Click here for a link to the GPI Comments and GPI Member Company comments.

To start, partnerships are key. Working in tandem, the food service businesses, hauler/recycler, and glass processor can more effectively ensure the recycled glass gets to a glass container manufacturer. And cities and counties that initiate programs are adept at helping to create these connections and bring all the parties together.

According to the survey, the average amount of glass collected through a bar, restaurant, hotel recycling program is about 150 tons/month, with the average number of participating businesses in a program at 100. Overall, implementing glass recycling resulted in a cost neutral for businesses or a small reduction/increase in costs.

Most programs were established to handle a high volume of glass containers generated at bars, restaurants, and hotels, as well as respond to the environmental impact of including glass with the trash rather than recycling it.

View the news release for more survey findings and best practices. And, get a detailed look at the survey in the October issue of Resource Recycling.

The Elmira Heights Anchor Glass facility turns 100 next year, and Congressman Tom Reed (R-NY) toured the facility during August recess and met with plant employees to see how he and Washington can help keep the local facility around for the next century.

All of the glass bottles for Sam Adams, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, and Saranac Beer come from Anchor's Elmira plant. Congressman Reed will work to ensure sustained and affordable energy for the plant and touted the facility as a model business. Anchor Glass is also investing $10 million to help retain jobs and keep the factory competitive. More here and here

Glass container manufacturer, O-I has partnered with Auckland-based DB Breweries to launch the first Vortex™ glass bottle in New Zealand.

The internal embossing technology called Vortex™ enables grooves on the inside of glass bottles, creating distinctive decoration while providing a smooth exterior for easy labelling. DB is using the Vortex™ for its Tui Blond Lager glass package. More

Recycle Glass Month is in full swing in communities across the country this month. In Colorado, MillerCoors is hosting a variety of events, including a glass collection drive with a goal of collecting 6,000 pounds of glass. MillerCoors will also have a Recycle Glass Month-themed float and information booth at the Arvada Harvest Festival Parade in Arvada, CO.

In Oregon, the Aurora Glass Foundry in Eugene is having an Open House and is providing tours of its operations to celebrate Recycle Glass Month.

In Muncie, IN, Verallia will be promoting Recycle Glass Month at Living Lightly, a resource fair aimed at promoting sustainable lifestyles. And as part of Verallia's ongoing efforts to educate children about the importance of recycling glass containers, Captain Cullet will debut on TV! The animated episodes will air on east central Indiana PBS stations from September 10-27. For more updates, be sure to visit www.GPI.org/recycle-glass-month throughout the month of September.

The Glass Packaging Institute presents the winners of its 2011 Clear Choice Awards. This year, 10 consumer product goods companies were recognized for their achievements in creating innovative glass packages with shelf impact. Entries were judged on innovation, package design (including container, label, and closure), and consumer appeal by judges from the world of design and printing, packaging trade press, and packaging schools.

“These winning package designs demonstrate that glass continues to be the ‘clear choice’ for consumers who want a package that complements today’s healthy and environmentally-conscious lifestyles,” says Lynn Bragg, President of the GPI, who notes that glass is one of the “greenest” packaging choices, being 100 percent and endlessly recyclable. “Additionally, nothing communicates purity, quality and value to consumers like a well-designed glass package.”

All 2011 Clear Choice Awards winners receive benefit from industry-wide recognition and brand building media coverage. And winning products will be displayed at PACK EXPO 2011 in Las Vegas, September 26-28, 2011. And new this year, it’s your turn to vote for your favorite. This year’s Clear Choice Awards’ People’s Choice will be announced during PACK EXPO 2011. Cast your vote on Facebook through September 28th.

Awards were given in the following categories: beer, wine, food, carbonated beverage, non-carbonated beverage, organic food or beverage, distilled spirits, flavored alcoholic beverage, cosmetics or fragrances and conversion recognition (products that have been converted to glass packaging from other forms of packaging). See all the award winners.

Traders Point Creamery’s award-winning cottage cheese is now available in recyclable glass containers manufactured by Verallia. Using glass jars preserves the cottage cheese in a nonporous and impermeable container, extending the shelf life of the product compared to plastic containers. The glass jars maintain the cottage cheese’s integrity, meaning none of the leaching that occurs with plastic containers happens in the new glass jar and the shelf life of the cheese is extended. Traders Point Creamery Cottage Cheese in glass containers is available at Whole Foods and in the Traders Point Creamery Store. More

Ripple Glass, Kansas City, MO is expanding to collect recycled glass in a dozen cities in five states, including Lincoln, NE; Eureka Springs, Ark.; Iowa City and Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Topeka, Fort Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Fort Riley, Kansas.

Less than two years after its launch, these communities have begun shipping their recycled glass bottles and jars to Ripple Glass in Kansas City. “We’re still alive and that’s exciting for us,” said Jeff Krum, an executive at Boulevard Brewing Co. and a co-founder of Ripple Glass. “It’s all about volume. The demand for cullet is close to limitless.”

Ripple Glass currently has 80 drop-off collection bins around the Kansas City area and has expanded to about 70 bars and restaurants in the center of the city. And that program is spreading as well. “Our hope is to do the entire metro within 12 months,” says Krum. Deffenbaugh Industries hauls the collection bins to Ripple Glass for processing.

“This study illustrates very clearly that the U.S. scrap recycling industry is playing an important role in America’s economic recovery,” said ISRI President Robin Wiener. “All this adds up to recognition that the scrap recycling industry must be allowed to grow so it can continue to boost our economy, put people to work protect our environment and help save energy. When people think of recycling, they think of the bin at the curb when in fact our industry is a multi-billion-dollar ‘Made in America’ manufacturing success story.” More

The Heathman Lodge, a 192-room hotel in Vancouver, WA near the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood National Forest, is on a sustainability mission, and that includes glass container recycling. For the past two years, glass bottles and jars are recycled at an onsite restaurant, all banquet services, and throughout the public areas.

Four yards of recycled mixed glass is collected for recycling each week. According to Scott Gix, The Heathman Lodge Sustainability Director, the biggest obstacle to glass recycling is that it takes a fair amount of space, but it has proven to make a big dent in diversion from the trash bin. In addition to glass, The Heathman Lodge recycles mixed paper, food composting, clean plastics, Compact Florescent bulbs, and batteries.

“We were actually the first business in Clark County to start a pilot program for businesses to recycle glass,” says Gix. The initial motivation was to reduce trash fees and expand overall hotel recycling, but in the beginning the lodge wasn’t able to find a local recycler to pick up the glass bottles, “so for the first few months of the program, we drove the glass bottles to a local recycling transfer station,” says Gix.

As the majority of U.S. soda ash production occurs on public lands in the Green River Basin, passage of this bill is crucial.  Without legislative action, the royalty rate will move to 6% in October. The current 2% rate assists GPI's soda ash industry partners and creates a more level playing field in the global soda ash market, where synthetically produced soda ash in China enjoys favorable rebates on its exports.  

The American Natural Soda Ash Corporation estimates that the proposed five-year extension of the current 2% rate would provide soda ash producers certainty and confidence to expand production, while supporting thousands of existing jobs and contributing to $1 billion annually in exports.

The Vortex® beer bottle from O-I, internally embossed with intertwining spirals that create a helix-like, three-dimensional effect on the bottle’s neck, is the first glass container in recent history to receive an IDEA (Industrial Design Excellence Award) from the Industrial Designers Society of America, referred to as the “Oscars of Design.”

Miller Coors brought the Vortex bottle to market in spring 2010 in a successful campaign for Miller Lite, and is credited with helping generate a 6 point trend improvement in Miller Lite’s bottle sales. “The Vortex® bottle demonstrates the value glass packaging and innovation can have on brand performance,” says Sean Seitzinger, vice president, marketing, O-I North America. More here and here