• Energy Research

AbstractWhen discussing glass bottles within the context of circular economy, reusability and recyclability are highlighted. However, it is recognised the relevant environmental footprint of glass production due to energy consumption and the impact of transportation of the empty bottles from the production site to the filling plants. Reducing the weight of the bottles has become possible through design and production technologies advances. However, consumer perceptions and technical requirements must be integrated and may conflict. This work aims at contributing to better understanding the relationship between the wine glass bottle weight, consumer perception of wine quality and acceptance of lighter bottles and recognition of sustainability factors related to packaging. Bordeaux shaped bottles are the lightest in the wine market, when compared to Burgundy or Conical, but also the ones with a wider weight range. Bordeaux bottles with 100 g of weight difference could be found for 750‐cL capacity. Design features, punt and finish/neck dimensions were found to limit the reduction in bottle weight. Consumer survey results indicate a correlation between the bottle weight and the wine price. Portuguese consumers tend to associate a heavier bottle with better quality and higher price, particularly those consumers with higher wine expertise. The three top concerns regarding packaging are, by order, being plastic‐free, recyclable and reusable. There is very low awareness on the importance of lightweighting glass bottles as a measure to improve sustainability. More than 80% of the respondents indicated the increase of recycled content as the measure contributing the most to sustainability.

Wine packaging is one of the biggest sustainability issues facing the sector and needs to be faced at many levels, from the materials and formats used in packages, through the logistics of trade to the consumer perceptions and attitudes. Life cycle assessments of the sustainability parameters of packaging options must contemplate the technical aspects of the package but also considerations such as where and how the wine is served, whether packages are single use, and whether the packaging process occurs close to where it is to be consumed. The cork stoppered, glass bottle is still by far most prevalent form of packaging, but even this exists in many formats and variations, many developed to improve sustainability attributes. Other materials and formats are also present, including bag-in-box, paper-based cartons, polyethylene terephthalate and other polymer bottles and kegs, aluminum cans, and steel kegs. Each have functional and sustainability attributes suiting them to certain applications and products types.

Food packaging improves shelf life and allows longer transportation distances in global food supply chains, but it is also responsible for huge volumes of waste. The transition to sustainable packaging by food companies has often been slow and inconsistent. How decisions on (sustainable) packaging are made within companies in the food sector remains mostly opaque to research. To explore the decision-making process and identify barriers for cleaner, more resource efficient food packaging, we carried out 17 interviews in four European countries across different food sectors using the theoretical decision-making process of Nutt (1984) as an analytical framework. Through qualitative content analysis, we found that decision-making processes often lack structure and extend over long stretches of time. Frequently, they are initiated in response to packaging material manufacturers or suppliers. Switching to more sustainable packaging often implies costly investments into new machinery. Economic sustainability takes precedence over ecological sustainability. We recommend companies move to life-cycle cost models for packaging decisions, commit to mono- and other recyclable materials, and establish structured decision-making processes with clear cut-off criteria so as to streamline implementation decisions. Our results further support a call for progressive legislation towards a circular economy in the packaging sector. This article/publication is based upon work from COST Action Circul-a-bility, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology), www.cost.eu. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion