FOLLOWING the trial of a range of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) bottles, The Wine Society has launched four permanent listings in Packamama eco-flat bottles into its range.
Comprising some of the Society’s most popular own-label wines, including its best-selling wine; The Society’s White Burgundy, all four wines have launched as part of the retailer’s Sustainability Plan and goal to halve its total carbon footprint by 2032.
Working with Packamama, the flat bottles are produced from 100% recycled PET. The bottles, along with the caps and labels, are said to be fully recyclable at home and collected by ‘99% of UK local authorities in kerbside recycling’.
The flat design and light weight of the bottles are designed to bring significant carbon savings in relation to production, transport, and recycling.
The white wines are packed in colourless (flint) bottles by Packamama. These are made from Prevented Ocean Plastic; a food grade recycled PET material. The material is categorised as ocean-bound plastic, meaning it has been found within a 50km distance of an ocean coastline, and would have been at high risk of ending up in our oceans if it had not been collected for recycling.
The colourless rPET bottles by Packamama also feature a UV inhibitor that protects the wine from light strike. The red wines are packed in green bottles and both these and the colourless bottles have an advanced oxygen scavenging barrier technology to increase shelf-life – although The Wine Society recommend drinking within 12 months of purchase.
The labels are designed to work with rPET bottles and the recycling process and uses specially designed adhesive to make the bottles recyclable. The screwcaps are also tethered to comply with the EU directive on single-use plastics.
Dom de Ville, director of sustainability and social impact at The Wine Society, said, “According to our research, glass bottles account for 31% of The Society’s total emissions. To achieve our ambitious reduction targets, we need to significantly reduce our emissions attributable to packaging. One way to do this is putting more of our wines into lower-carbon packaging formats.
“Although rPET might sound controversial, with today’s technology and in the absence of a proper system in the UK to collect and reuse glass bottles, the recycled plastic bottle is a good option, with a lower-carbon footprint than glass and can be recycled kerbside at home.”
Santiago Navarro, CEO & founder of Packamama, added, “We are deeply grateful that, following a successful trial last year, the world’s oldest wine club has taken this leadership step to permanently implement one of the world’s latest bottle technologies to reduce their emissions and contribute to achieving their bold sustainability goals. We are humbled and motivated to be collaborating with The Wine Society, and to see them supporting this move by offering these wines at a discount to glass, and we hope this serves as a catalyst for others in our industry to trial or implement innovations to slash their carbon footprint in a worsening climate crisis.”
