Reduced Footprint and Greater Appeal to Green- and Health-Conscious Consumers

Leaving a smaller environmental footprint and appealing to the health-conscious consumer were major areas of focus for the North American glass container industry in 2010—and will continue to be in 2011.

The North American glass container industry made strides in 2010 to create more recycling awareness and improve recycled glass collection for bottle-to-bottle recycling. All of this helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and use of raw materials, extend the life of glass manufacturing furnaces, save energy, and meet the industry’s 50% recycled content goal by 2013.

In further support of the this goal, in late 2010 the industry released its first comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA), which enumerates the benefits of boosting the use of cullet, or recycled glass, in shrinking the industry’s environmental footprint. The findings of the LCA will help lay the foundation for the industry’s efforts in 2011 and beyond. More

Get all the details on the 2011 outlook for glass containers:

Glass Shipments and Production
Making a Difference through Packaging Choices
Lighter in Weight, More Recycled Content, Innovative Designs
Appealing to Green- and Health-Conscious Consumers
A Need for More and Better Ways to Recycle
Climate Change Legislation Takes Center Stage
New and Expanded Container Deposit, Extended Producer Responsibility, Legislation

GPI Submits Comments on Federal Trade Commission's Revised 'Green Guides'

Late last year, the Glass Packaging Institute, which represents North American glass container manufacturers, filed comments on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) revised “Green Guides”.

“Our industry agrees with many of the changes proposed by the FTC,” said Joseph J. Cattaneo, GPI President. “These include the continued need for guidance to the packaging industry, setting a clear threshold for how much recyclable content can be included in a product for it to be considered ‘recycled’, and factoring in the amount of time it takes for material to breakdown in order to claim it is ‘degradable’.”

“We also think it’s essential that the Green Guides clarify the difference between what is ‘recyclable’ and what is ‘downcycled’,” added Cattaneo. “Many products that claim to be recyclable can’t be recycled back into their original form, but are only downcycled into products that will eventually end up in a landfill. Glass packaging, by contrast, can be recycled endlessly back into glass bottles. Most other packaging materials cannot be returned to their original form.”

GPI also urged the FTC to ensure in its final guides that a truthful claim, such as that glass is “endlessly recyclable,” can continue to be made. More

PACKAGING TRENDS

Boulevard Brewing and Verallia Team Up to Introduce Single-Serve Smokestack Beer

Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, MO and the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest, issued their Smokestack Series of bigger, bolder brews in 2007. Packaged in 750 ml champagne bottles, the size is ideal for sharing, but a bit too much for a loyal solo consumer.

To stay consistent with the brand and introduce a single-serve size, Verallia, the glass packaging brand of Saint-Gobain Containers, worked with Boulevard to create a smaller package that still upholds the reputation of the Smokestack portfolio.

A 12 oz. bottle was developed that is reminiscent of the 750 ml champagne bottle shape but with a diameter similar to Boulevard’s current 12 oz. heritage bottle, minimizing the changeover parts needed to run the new design. The 12 oz. proprietary bottle, available in a four-pack, is also designed to hold five volumes of pressure versus the three volumes for the average beer bottle. Brand embellishment, “Boulevard Brewing Co.,” near the shoulder area enhances the simple, elegant appearance. More

Heineken Announces Launch of Streamlined “Iconic Bottle”

In an effort to unify the visual identify of their packaging on glass bottles, glassware, and cans, Heineken has announced the global roll-out of the redesign of a range of brand packaging. The new glass bottle design cuts the number of sizes available to achieve greater brand uniformity and improve supply chain flexibility and efficiency. The new Heineken bottle will come in five different volume sizes—rather than 15—and will be available in Western Europe at the beginning of 2011 and across the rest of the world by 2012.

The new beer bottle design features a curved embossment on the neck and back, which is added to improve looks, give a pleasing feel, and act as a stamp of quality and authenticity. According to Mark van Iterson, global manager of Heineken design & concept, “We believe that with one recognizable bottle the global Heineken brand will be further strengthened. With uniformity comes even greater impact.” According to van Iterson, consumer response has been excellent. “They see the new design to be modern, appealing and innovative.” More

R.W. Knudsen Kicks off 50th Anniversary by Raising a Glass…Bottle

Natural fruit beverage manufacturer R.W. Knudsen is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2011 with a variety of customer promotions. It kicked off the celebration in November with a limited run of 5,000 specially designed commemorative 750-milliliter glass bottles of sparkling Concord grape juice, given away via the brand’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

A 50th anniversary consumer promotion will award a trip to Napa Valley to denote the brand’s beginnings at an organic grape orchard in nearby Paradise, CA. The promotion will be advertised at the retail level with specially marked neck hangers, a major digital advertising program, sampling events across the country and radio campaigns in San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Chicago and Boston. Sweepstakes winners will be announced in the summer of 2011. More

New PURE Glass Bottles Make for Easy Transport and Naturally Pure Taste

“If you give people a choice,” says Walt Himelstein, inventor of the PURE Glass Bottle, “99 percent will choose to drink out of glass. It’s been around for thousands of years and is the drinking material of choice.” But, according to Himelstein, “people don’t feel comfortable carrying it out of their house.” As a practicing environmental chemist for 23 years, Himelstein came up with a simple solution: the PURE Glass Bottle.

PURE Glass Bottles combine the purity of glass with a permanent clear, BPA-free, protective outer coating, for shatter and impact resistance. The coating is a proprietary plastisol approved for food contact, which Himelstein perfected working with coating manufacturers.

It’s portable for hot or cold beverages, reusable, and according to the PURE web site allows consumers to “enjoy the crisp, clean taste of your chosen beverage without the fear of leaching or contamination.” The PURE glass bottle is made from 20% recycled glass and is 100% recyclable, along with the coating. “It’s a natural product and people are looking for this,” says Himelstein. More on where to purchase

Vitro Manufactures Commemorative Glass Bottle for Tequila Herradura

Tequila Herradura has launched in Mexico and worldwide a new image to commemorate its 140th anniversary. The elegant and sophisticated glass bottle is supplied by Vitro. “We still produce Tequila Herradura with the same traditional processes that we’ve been using for 140 years,” says Randy McCann Santaella, President of Casa Herradura Brown-Forman. “The new bottle dignifies and honors the extraordinary quality of its contents. With the change in image we are improving the bottle’s outside without altering its unbeatable contents.”

The new tequila bottle is a square shape and eliminates a paper label to better appreciate its contents and how the decorative label is in the shape of a metal horseshoe. The black satin cap is decorated with a ribbon whose color indicates which presentation of tequila is in the bottle. “We are very pleased to be the suppliers of this important project for Tequila Herradura, a company recognized for its superior quality tequila, that, since 1870, has put Mexico’s name at the forefront of the industry around the world,” says Alfonso Gomez Palacio, President of Vitro’s Glass Containers business unit. More

Reed’s Finds Swing-Top Bottles a Natural Fit

Reed’s, maker of top-selling natural sodas like Virgil’s Root Beer, has rolled out swing-top bottles. The glass bottles are produced at the company’s bottling factory in Los Angeles, making it the only bottling plant in North America that is tooled to run swing-top bottled beverages.

"Running swing-top bottled products is a true milestone for our company,” said Reed Founder, Chairman and CEO Chris Reed. “We find that people love the old-style European craftsmanship of swing-top bottles and are willing to pay a premium for them." The first Reed swing-top glass bottle was for a one-liter holiday beverage for a private label customer. More

LEGISLATION

Climate Regulations to Receive Renewed Attention in 112th Congress

New U.S. EPA regulations for glass container manufacturing and other industrial facilities (effective January 2) will receive new attention from incoming Republican leadership. In the House, Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Fred Upton (R-MI) has indicated he would like to see a delay in their implementation. An outline of Chairman Upton's comprehensive energy legislative strategy for the Committee is expected at the end of the month.

Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Darrell Issa (R-CA) has co-sponsored Congressional efforts in the past to delay EPA regulations. Chairman Issa has indicated his intent this Congress to host investigative hearings, including regulatory efforts, at the EPA. The House must also pass funding measures for all federal agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year by March 4th. House Republicans have indicated they would like to return agency spending to 2008 levels, which may provide an opportunity to eliminate funding for targeted initiatives.

OSHA Issues Workplace Noise Proposal

Late last year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a proposal to overturn established policy on reducing workplace noise. Currently, employers are permitted to provide personal ear protection to employees to reduce potentially harmful workplace noise. The new OSHA proposal would require businesses to consider using administrative and or engineering controls to reduce employee exposure to workplace noise.

These new efforts may include limiting employee time in certain workplace areas, or requiring expensive noise dampening equipment to be installed. Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) have authored a letter to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, requesting that OSHA review the necessity of this proposal. Specifically, they have asked OSHA to provide quantitative data affirming the need for a policy change, any economic analysis and research completed on the proposal prior to issuance and the type and level of stakeholder input received prior to publication.

GLASS RECYCLING

Pennsylvania Resources Council Launches Container Recycling for Steelers Home Games

At the final three Pittsburgh Steelers home games of the 2010 regular season and a new year’s day winter classic hockey game, the Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC) and its partners collected recyclables at tailgating parties outside Heinz Field.

The “Let’s Tackle Recycling” campaign collected glass containers, aluminum cans, and plastic bottles and cups, as well as cardboard, for recycling. This pilot initiative will continue at the January 15th Steelers playoff home game as well as any additional home playoff games. “Let’s Tackle Recycling” is sponsored by PRC and the Alcoa Foundation in partnership with Alco Parking, City of Pittsburgh Environmental Services, Greenstar, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Sports & Exhibition Authority.

“We are very pleased with the participation from the fans,” says Dave Mazza, PRC regional director. They also collected a lot of recyclables. “Right now we’re at about 13,000 pounds of material collected,” says Mazza. “While glass is technically prohibited in the stadium,” says Mazza, “we knew there would be glass for recycling.” A composition study of recyclables collected found that 40% was aluminum cans, 30% glass bottles, 20% plastic bottles and cups, and 10% cardboard. The cardboard is mostly from beer cases. That translates into about 2,700 lbs. of glass or around 5,000 bottles. Find out how they organized the recycling collection

Houston, TX Continues Single-Stream Recycling Expansion

The City of Houston, TX announced in December that an additional 30,000 households received 96 gallon single-stream recycling carts with the rewards-for-recycling program RecycleBank. In the ongoing expansion, this brings the total to nearly 105,000 households in the program. The City first launched the single-stream pilot in April 2009 to 10,000 homes, and in November 2009, RecycleBank came on board and the City added 10,000 additional households.

Residents that are part of the single-stream recycling collection program can also now recycle their glass bottles and jars. Glass recycling is not available to households in the dual-stream collection program. All residents, however, can recycle glass at citywide drop-off collection sites. Glass collected for recycling goes to Strategic Materials, Inc..

The City does not own or operate its own materials processing facility, and since starting single-stream recycling collection the original contractor for this service, Abitibi, which was taking the material to its single stream materials processing facility in Arlington, TX, was bought by Waste Management. Now that Waste Management has the contract, they are having to retrofit one of their facilities to accept single-stream collected recyclables. More

Florida DEP Opens Recycling Business Assistance Center

After a 2010 Florida statue directed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to create the Recycling Business Assistance Center (RBAC) , it is now open. The RBAC is charged with expanding markets for recyclables, including glass bottle, so that Florida can reach its 75% recycling goal by 2020. The state’s current recycling rate is 29%.

It is hoped the Center will help put recycled materials in higher demand in the state and region. According to Loni Hanka, RBAC Coordinator, the RBAC has already started to reach out to the state's recyclers to get a sense of what opportunities exist for new markets and what can be done to enhance existing ones.

The RBAC has also launched a new web site with information on accessing low-interest loans to purchase equipment and machinery for recycling, tax credits, federal grants, and a directory of processors and waste management contacts.

1000 WORDS

Buddhist Monks Find Nirvana in Recycled Glass Bottles

In Belgium, Trappist Monks are famous for bottling Belgian White Ale in their Monasteries. But in Thailand, one order of Buddhist Monks has made use of old beer bottles in an inspiring form of recycling. Watch the video