Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/279499
20 W i n e s & V i n e s A P R i L 2 0 1 4 S an Rafael, Calif.—The Glass Packag- ing Institute and its members proudly boast that glass is "endlessly recyclable" and thus eco-positive. How effective this is in practice depends upon local recycling programs that deliver cullet (re-usable glass) to glass plants. Now Palo Alto, Calif.-based eCullet and Owens-Illinois, the world's largest glass con- tainer manufacturer, are planning to open an eCullet plant to sort commingled glass in Port- land, Ore. In March 2013, eCullet announced the formation of Glass to Glass LLC, which would invest in "sophisticated glass-sorting equipment" to make more high-quality recy- cled glass available for use in O-I plants. The company explained, "Much of the recycled glass collected in North America comes from single-stream recycling, which mixes paper, metal, plastic and glass. This collection process often results in glass that is too contaminated to be successfully re- introduced into the manufacturing process. Improved sorting techniques will increase the amount of usable glass available." J.P. Giovanni, vice president of West Coast sales and marketing for Italian- based Bruni Glass Packaging, said cullet is "readily and consistently available" in places like northern Europe, where the government ensures a consistent supply. "It is different in the U.S., where the glass- recycling effort is left to local companies, resulting in uneven supply...and therefore unreliable supply and changing prices." Erica Harrop, president of Global Package LLC responded: "We are aiming to reduce the carbon footprint wherever possible. We are mostly working with factories shipping near ports; minimizing packaging sourcing from various locations has aided in wastage reduc- tion and extra movements worldwide." At Tricor Braun Winepak, sales manager Suzanne Gordon said, "It is my understand- ing from our domestic suppliers that the cul- let supply is always tight, and that the quality of that supply is improving over time." Marty Sychowski, president of All Ameri- can Containers, Pacific Coast, also was optimistic. "Reports from our manufactur- ing sources confirm that they are each using increasing amounts of cullet. Overall, the industry definitely continues to grow in its ability for already used glass." —Jane Firstenfeld How Green Are Wine Bottles? Local recycling programs bottleneck the flow of reusable glass A planned glass-sorting center aims to increase the availability of recycled glass. owenS-iLLinoiS A P R I L N E W S