California DOC and Legislative Staff Tour Glass Facilities

On November 6, key California Department of Conservation (DOC) leaders and about a dozen state legislative staff toured Bay Area glass recycling and manufacturing facilities.

Organized by the DOC, visitors toured the Davis Street Recycling Center, Strategic Materials glass processing facility in San Leandro, a Tomra "rePlanet" recycling center, and finished up at O-I's glass manufacturing plant in Oakland.

"The Oakland Plant was proud to host our friends from the Department of Conservation and Capitol Staff," says Loren Johnson, O-I Oakland Plant Manager. "Recycling education tours are a beneficial way for legislators to learn about the possibilities of glass recycling." More

Monterey, CA Targets Container Recycling at Local Events

Pro-Tainer's Pro-Side Dump mobile collection unit

The Glass Packaging Institute, through a grant from the CA Dept. of Conservation, is helping the City of Monterey, CA expand its collection of CRV beverage containers by an expected additional three million annually.

By early next year, the city has plans to establish mobile bottle recycling (see photo) for about 75 annual special event days and provide drop-off collection at two military installations. A custom-built improvement to the local MRF glass sorting line is also planned. "We want to get better value for all color glass, especially clear," says Angela Brantley, City of Monterey Solid Waste Program Manager. More

PACKAGING TRENDS

Using Glass and Shape to Build an Iconic Brand

Brand Packaging's September feature, "Isn't it Iconic," highlights the secret to elevating a package to "iconic" status, and creating a package that becomes a signature, recognizable part of the overall brand. It's not surprising that three of the four featured products are contoured glass bottle shapes—Coca-Cola, Heinz Ketchup, and Red Strip.

Companies hoping to duplicate the success of these products are taking notice, and using glass for its contouring capability and high-quality to build their own brand. Gentleman Jack Rare Tennessee Whiskey, Bertolli's new Organic Pasta Sauce, and Frützzo are just a few that are hoping to reach the same iconic status.

Glass Packaged "true fruits" Juices Win Over Consumers and Industry

 "true fruits" smoothie-like juices, introduced late 2006 in Germany, have already won three European design awards and are a hit among consumers. The 250 mL clear glass bottles, manufactured by O-I, are marked with printed lines that act as visual indicators of the percent of fruit portions inside. International judges noted that "a high-quality printed glass bottle" had been chosen instead of the customary labeled polyethylene terephthalate bottle, "focusing on the most important thing… the product." Read the news release

SUSTAINABILITY

Glass Makes Strides with Sustainability

Glass Industry Initiatives Lessen Impact of Glass Containers on the Environment, with More Planned for 2008

The glass container industry is bringing innovation to glass packaging design and manufacturing to reduce waste, costs, and impact on the environment. Efforts have also stepped up to boost glass bottle recycling.

"We're focused on figuring out the best ways to improve the entire glass production process and then bring that glass bottle back to the manufacturer to start the cycle all over again," says Joseph Cattaneo, Glass Packaging Institute president.

Consumer preferences for sustainability led many to turn to glass in 2007. "As environmental friendliness, sustainability, and healthy packaging are projected to remain at the forefront of importance for the packaging industry in 2008, the outlook for the glass container market looks promising," says Cattaneo.

Read more about light weighting, reductions in GHG emissions, glass plants building "green", and glass recycling innovations 

Food Jars Take a Turn at Light Weighting

The UK's Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), as part of the GlassRite Food Project, has helped Mars, a major food brand owner, reduce the weight of its glass packaged Uncle Ben's ambient sauce jars by 6%. As a result, Mars has saved the energy equivalent of taking 192 cars off the road. Read the article

LEGISLATION

MA Considers Bottle Bill Expansion Legislation

The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy held a hearing to debate the merits of expanding the state's current bottle deposit system to include water and other non-carbonated beverage containers.

Under the proposed measures, this five-cent deposit would include non-carbonated drinks, such as tea, sports drinks, and water beverages. Currently, a five-cent deposit is required on bottles and cans that contain carbonated beverages, such as soft drinks and beer. More

GLASS RECYCLING

Sorting Technology to Improve Glass Quality in Trial

A California Department of Conservation grant awarded in January 2007 to Environmental Planning Consultants aims to improve the quality of glass coming out of materials recovery facilities receiving recyclables from single stream collection sources.

The $430,000 grant provides for construction and testing of a prototype low-impact sorter that will recover high-quality beverage container glass for reuse in making new glass bottles. The prototype was constructed by GreenWaste Recovery, Inc.

"Most glass bottles do not seem to be broken in the collection truck," says Richard Gertman of Environmental Planning. "It's happening at the MRF." The processing system is designed to minimize breakage at the early stages of collection and processing to keep glass out of the paper and remove glass contaminants. Read more
Watch video of sort technology

1000 WORDS

CNN.com posted this "Quick Vote" question: "Do man-made chemicals in plastics or textiles pose a threat to your health?" The Results:

The question was asked in conjunction with an October 22, 2007 article entitled, "Tests reveal high chemical levels in kids' bodies". Read the article

Copyright © 2007 Glass Packaging Institute 

If you, or someone you know would like to subscribe to "Inside Glass Packaging," or if you'd like to unsubscribe, please let us know at info@gpi.org. If you'd like to unsubscribe, you can also click here.