GPI sat down to speak with Cheri Chastain, Sustainability Coordinator at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., recipient of the Glass Packaging Institute’s “Friend of Glass” recognition and Food & Engineering magazine’s “Sustainable Plant of the Year” award. Chastain gives us “a look inside” the brewing company’s myriad of sustainability initiatives, including why Sierra Nevada chooses glass for its line of specialty and craft beers and the company’s dedication to recycling their bottles and other materials. Listen to the podcast or Read the transcript

Saint-Gobain Containers Launches Second Feature Animation

“Becoming a Glass Super Agent” Reveals the Importance of Recycling Glass

Saint-Gobain Containers, a leading producer of glass containers for the U.S. food and beverage industries, recently launched its second feature animation, “Becoming a Glass Super Agent,” targeted for elementary school-aged children.

In the new animation, Captain Cullet, a robot who crushes glass into cullet, and his sidekick, Little Gob o’ Glass, a drop of hot molten glass, focus on the science of making glass as they give students a tour of a working glass bottle factory.

In “The Original Adventure,” Captain Cullet and Little Gob detail the history of glass and educate on the importance of choosing a healthy and safe package for food and beverages. Both animations describe the benefits of glass and the need to recycle glass for a greener environment. The videos and downloadable files are free and available online. More

Check out the videos

Spear Receives TLMI Environmental Leadership Award

Spear, the world’s leading supplier of prime labels for the food, beverage and personal care industries, has been recognized with the 2009 Environmental Leadership Award from the Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute. The Award recognizes the TLMI member company that has consistently demonstrated a commitment to progressive environmental practices.

SpearEARTH, the company’s program that develops and quantifies their environmental activities, proves what made them the 2009 award winner. Over the past year, Spear has reduced 5,000,000 annual landfill pounds through thin film development. Liner and matrix recycling programs have eliminated over 13,500,000 landfill pounds. Solvent recovery and supply programs allow Spear to reclaim more than 3,500,000 pounds of solvent and vertically integrate 95% of total usage. Finally, energy reduction and process improvement programs have saved 9,250 (tCO2) total carbon emissions. More

PACKAGING TRENDS

Lipsey Mountain Spring Water Brings Glass Jugs to Home and Office

For the past two decades, Lipsey has used recyclable glass jugs to offer better water in a superior package with their “black tie” service. GPI recently talked to Mike Levison, Chief Operating Officer at Lipsey, about the company’s five-gallon glass jug home and workplace water delivery service in the Metropolitan Atlanta area. Mike describes the company’s decision to use glass, marketplace success, and plans for the future. Listen to the podcast or Read the Transcript

LEGISLATION

Climate Change Legislation Passes EPW Committee

The primary climate change vehicle in the Senate, S 1733, passed out of the Environment and Public Works Committee earlier this month by a 10–1 vote, with all Committee Republicans abstaining from the vote, and Senate Finance Chair Max Baucus (D-MT) voting against the measure. S. 1733 mandates a goal of reducing GHG emissions 20% from 2005 levels by 2020, which is slightly more ambitious than its counterpart in the House. It also specifically preserves the right for the EPA to separately regulate GHG emissions where it deems necessary. More

GLASS RECYCLING

Saint-Gobain Containers and eCullet Initiative in Seattle to Boost Glass Recycling and Recycled Content

In South Seattle, Washington, a joint initiative between Saint-Gobain Containers, the nations’ largest manufacturer of wine bottles, and eCullet, developer of state-of-the-art camera sorting technology for processing recycled glass, will help produce new glass containers made with double the amount of recycled glass—increasing the recycled content from 17% to 35%—with the potential to increase more in the future.

"Since we produce millions of bottles per year at the plant, this is a critical step to help us reach our company-wide goal of using 50% recycled content by 2013," said Peter Walters, Vice President of Purchasing and Distribution for Saint-Gobain Containers.

The eCullet facility, in pilot phase of operation since May 2009, has ramped up since the ribbon cutting in September and is currently processing about 5,500 tons a month. When running at full capacity, they plan to deliver 7,500–8,000 tons a month of furnace-ready cullet to SGCI for making new glass bottles.

“Everything we process goes to Saint-Gobain,” said Farook Afsari, Chairman and Founder of eCullet. An independent facility, eCullet is located on space leased from SGCI near their manufacturing plant. “From the time the cullet is produced to the time it can be introduced into the batch is literally three to five minutes,” says Afsari. “This makes for an exceptional carbon footprint on the marketing side.” More

Metro-Wide Glass Recycling System Launches in Kansas City, MO

Kansas City, MO residents can now drop off their glass bottles and jars at one of 60 locations in the metro area, including Whole Foods, Price Chopper and Hen House grocery stores, Sprint Nextel, Hallmark Cards, the Harley Davidson Plant, and community centers.

Glass bottles and jars recycled through this extended drop-off system will then be taken to Ripple Glass, which opens December 1st, for sorting and processing. The finished cullet will be used at a local Owens Corning plant for fiberglass insulation.

Each drop-off container (photo right) holds 8–10 tons of mixed-color glass, but Stacia Stelk, Executive Director at Ripple Glass, admits they aren’t sure how much to expect. “We hope to take in 6,000 to 7,000 tons conservatively in the first year, and by year three around 15,000 to 20,000 annually.”

A feasibility study conducted prior to project development revealed that only 5% of Kansas City residents recycle glass. According to Stelk, they expect there is a big opportunity to significantly increase the recycling rate, estimating there is 80,000 tons of glass thrown away each year. Glass is not collected through the City’s single stream curbside collection program, so residents are “anxious to recycle their glass,” says Stelk. More

1000 WORDS

Take a Virtual Tour Through a Glass Processing Facility

Hazel Mobley, Strategic Materials, shows viewers the ins and outs of their cullet processing facility in Atlanta, GA. And asks Georgians to recycle more of their glass bottles and jars. The video was produced by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs as part of a series of videos on single-stream recycling in the state. Watch now