Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/70675
P a C ka GI n G Jay Scripter of Owens-Illinois calls glass "endlessly recyclable." operations L. Richard Crawford has chaired GPI's board. In 2007, O-I set 10-year goals for its sustainability portfolio, including re- duction by half of energy use, and emissions reduction of 65%. GPI membership set an industry-wide goal to use 50% or more recycled materials by 2013. At the 2009 Green Wine Summit, Jay Scripter, O-I's VP of sustainability, detailed the company's Life Cycle Assess- ment (LCA), which provides a complete picture of the carbon footprint of glass containers and comparison with alterna- tive packaging materials. In a January interview, Scripter said the peer-reviewed LCA extends "all the way from something being pumped or dug out of the ground," through manufacturing demands, trans- portation costs and ability to be recycled. Glass, he said, is endlessly recyclable within a closed loop—that is, bottle-to- bottle. "We are of the opinion that recy- cling benefits should go back to what it came from. If (a material) is down-cycled into carpet, we don't understand it." (See "Wine Bottles Born Again" on p. 45.) According to Scripter, "In this nation we have 25% post-consumer recycling" of glass containers. Once glass has been recycled, it is ground into "cullet" and re-formed into new containers. "For every 10% more cullet used, emissions drop by 5%," he said. "Our goals demand we rein- vent the processes of melting, and we have several projects in R&D to do just that, by changing energy sources and the type of energy required" to complete the process. Bottle manufacturers pay for recycled glass from both commercial and consum- er sources, he said. Because the recycling process is now highly automated and computerized, "We can very accurately determine the energy savings" along the entire supply chain. Competitors in the wine packaging arena often tout lighter shipping weights. Scripter argued that transportation accounts for only 5% of O-I's carbon footprint, which, Wines & Vines MARCH 2011 43 he contended, could be reduced substan- tially only "if the glass were floating in air." He pointed out that O-I, like other major glass suppliers, has glass plants strategi- cally located near clients, including two in California's East Bay, further reducing shipping impact and costs. The GPI lists cullet plants in some 30 states. Lightweight, diminutive footprint not withstanding, the most basic function of wine packaging is to protect its contents. The endless debate about wine closures focuses not just on contamination but also oxygen ingress. Glass bottles have retained immunity in this argument: They are virtually impermeable to gases and vapors. "Unlike plastic, cans and multi-layered or bag-in-box cartons, glass does not need any plastic layers or other additives to preserve the taste of wine," according to the GPI website, which also states: "Glass-packaged wine will never have a sell-by date." There is one disadvantage to this longevity: Wine cellared for decades in glass bottles may take a long time to enter the stream of recycled cullet.