Consumers are growing increasingly conscious of environmental impacts affecting our planet, and they are looking to brands to take steps to address them. Wineries are doing their part to answer the challenge with regenerative farming, precision agriculture technology, and green energy — which includes the implementation of sustainable packaging.
From bottle design to sourcing, many wineries have already implemented changes to their packaging to enhance their sustainability efforts. The use of glass itself offers a positive environmental impact because it is 100% recyclable and can continue to be recycled repeatedly without a loss in quality. A move to a locally sourced supplier who leverages recycled glass in new bottle production is making an even bigger impact.
“One way we’re transforming glass manufacturing is by trying to increase our recycled content to 50%. It’s important to understand that glass packaging has only four simple ingredients: limestone, soda ash, silica sand and recycled glass, which we call cullet. Cullet melts at a lower temperature, so when we increase the level of cullet that goes into our batch, the furnaces require less energy, and this results in fewer emissions. You can see why keeping glass in the manufacturing stream and out of the landfill is so important,” said Randy Burns, Chief Sustainability & Corporate Affairs Officer at O-I Glass.
Purchasing glass from a local supplier reduces the miles that glass has to be transported, which lowers carbon emissions. O-I’s West Coast footprint, with plants in Kalama (Washington), Portland (Oregon), and Tracy and Los Angeles (California) is perfectly suited to service the local West Coast wine producers.
The combination of local and recycled glass is a powerful example of how the circular economy works by reducing raw material usage and recapturing waste to manufacture new materials and products. To enhance the circular economy, O-I Glass partnered in a joint venture called Glass to Glass to establish a recycling cullet processing facility in Oregon.
“We call that circularity ‘From Backyard to Bottle,’ said Jon French, Commercial Director of Wine at O-I Glass. “We have four strategically located glass plants on the West Coast to accommodate local production of glass that has a high-cullet content. Wineries from Seattle to Los Angeles are direct beneficiaries of local glass deliveries that will assist them in reducing their carbon footprint.”
The issue that is making the move to higher recycled content more difficult for some glass manufacturers is simple — it’s accessibility. “Recycling is a complex topic, and the picture varies dramatically. Some communities have strong existing support, but others do not,” notes Randy Burns.
That strong existing support is evident in Oregon. As O-I Glass Sales Manager Martha Halper points out, the Glass to Glass initiative makes it an extremely well-supported market. “Glass to Glass receives all the glass recycled in the state of Oregon. Since Oregon is the most successful state in the country for recycling, it is a substantial amount. The recycling facility is within 15 minutes of our Portland plant and about 45 minutes from our Kalama plant, both producing wine bottles for the local market. This proximity allows both of our plants to use very high rates of cullet to produce glass. If we can’t use it all for nearby Oregon and Washington wineries, it goes to our California plants in Tracy and Los Angeles.”
As O-I has demonstrated, the importance of continuing to keep glass in the manufacturing stream will only grow. The recently released 2024 Sustainability Report proves O-I’s dedication for a brighter future in preserving our planet, communities and people — one bottle at a time.
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