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GreenBottle

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GreenBottle Ltd (now dissolved and in no way related to Greenbottle Limited incorporated in March 2016) was the manufacturer of sustainable, paper-based liquids packaging.[1] In 2017, Ecologic Brands Inc.,based in Manteca California, purchased the assets of the former GreenBottle.

GreenBottle was developed in 2005 by inventor Martin Myerscough following a chance encounter with a waste tip manager. Myerscough was told that the biggest problem at waste tips is the abundance of plastic milk bottles.[2] With less than 8 years of landfill in the UK remaining,[3] Myerscough was inspired by his son's (Jamie Myerscough's) papier-mâché balloon to create a moulded paper bottle with a thin plastic lining.[4]

GreenBottle was initially produced as a milk bottle exclusive to national British retailer Asda.

Following the successful launch of the GreenBottle milk container, the company unveiled its designs for a paper wine bottle.[5] The launch was met with international enthusiasm, gaining press coverage, and eventually sales, from around the world.

GreenBottle is a commercially viable, environmentally green alternative to plastic, glass and laminated cartons.

The process

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The bottles are made by moulding the pulp of wood fibre which is then pressed into shape. The plastic liner is automatically vacuum formed and inserted into one half shell, another half shell is placed on top and the two are then sealed together. The bottles are designed to easily integrate with existing filling lines. The bottles can be printed, labelled and/or embossed.[6]

Environmental benefits

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Packaging is the largest contributor to a product's carbon footprint - accounting for between 30-70% of the total emissions.[7]

Compared to glass

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GreenBottle has an estimated 10% of the carbon footprint of glass and weighs just one sixth of an average wine glass bottle, making it much more fuel efficient to transport both in bulk and for consumers.[8][9] Glass is often regarded as a green form of packaging but its production process is highly energy intensive and whilst 62% of glass is recycled in the UK, only 50% of this is remelted. The balance is either destined for land fill, road aggregate or fibreglass insulation manufacture.[10]

In the UK more than 1.2 billion wine bottles are used every year.[citation needed] Although recyclable, glass containers are constituted of varying degrees of recycled glass. Green glass is made of 76% recycled glass content, clear glass just 29%.[11]

Compared to plastic bottles

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Plastic bottles require up to 4.5 times the amount carbon to produce compared to a milk GreenBottle.[12] Most plastic, even if it has been recycled several times, is eventually bound for landfill where it persists indefinitely. In 2010, there were warnings that the UK had just eight years of landfill remaining [13] and the EU Landfill Directive legally binds the UK to reduce its municipal waste, by 2020, to 35% of 1995 dumping levels.[14] Much of the 15 million plastic bottles consumed daily in the UK still ends up in landfill where it will persist for more than 500 years.[15] Only 35% of PET bottles are recycled.[16]

In contrast, the paper bottle can be composted in as little as 12 weeks and recycled with paper recycling. The GreenBottle bottle uses less than one third of the amount of plastic in a standard UK milk bottle.

Compared to laminated cartons

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The laminated carton was among the most innovative developments in packaging over the last 60 years. Laminated cartons are made from layers of paper board fused with a plastic lining containing a small amount of aluminium. The packaging can keep liquids fresh over long distances and periods of time, locked within a safe seal. The composition of laminated cartons makes it difficult to separate the various components from the paper. Recycling cartons is therefore more complicated than simply recycling paper and/or pieces of plastic.[17] There are no recycling facilities available for laminated cartons in the UK at the moment so post-consumer cartons that are collected by local councils are sent to land fill in the UK or shipped to mainland Europe for incineration or specialist recycling.[18] The global recycling rate of laminated cartons is approximately 20% of the 175 billion cartons sold in 2011.[19]

Awards

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GreenBottle was the winner of the Best Small Companies category at the 2012 Rethink Awards, hosted by Planet Workshops.[20] A few weeks later, it was also shortlisted for Most Sustainable Small Organisation by the International Green Awards.[21]

References

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  1. ^ Orr, Gillian (24 February 2012). "Is it time to pass on glass when it comes to serving wine?". The Independent. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  2. ^ Lucas, Louise (9 June 2012). "Paper bottles to soak up green drinkers". Financial Times. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  3. ^ Grice, Andrew (8 July 2010). "UK warned it will run out of landfill sites in eight years". The Independent. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  4. ^ Williams, Olivia (14 November 2011). "GreenBottle, World's First Paper Wine Bottle, To Launch In Britain". Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  5. ^ Williams, Olivia (14 November 2011). "GreenBottle, World's First Paper Wine Bottle, To Launch In Britain". Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Eco-Innovation - European Commission". green-business.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  7. ^ "Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Summary 2011/12". Coca Cola. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  8. ^ Low, Valentine (14 November 2011). "Now you can relax after ripping open a bottle of wine". The Times. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  9. ^ Doward, Jamie (13 November 2012). "First came the plastic cork, now get ready for the paper wine bottle". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  10. ^ "Recycling glass in the hospitality sector". WRAP. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  11. ^ "Glass Toolkit". WRAP. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  12. ^ Ehrlich, Richard (23 September 2008). "The Green Kitchen". The Times. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  13. ^ Grice, Andrew (8 July 2010). "UK warned it will run out of landfill sites in eight years". The Independent. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  14. ^ "Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme". EU Landfill Directive. UK Department of Environment, Farming & Rural Affairs. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  15. ^ Doward, Jamie (30 January 2011). "Papier-mache milk bottle arrives in UK supermarkets". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  16. ^ "PET Plastic bottles – facts not myths". British Plastics Federation. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  17. ^ Nichols, Will (5 July 2012). "Paper juice bottle promises to squeeze out unsustainable packaging". Business Green. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  18. ^ "Carton recycling on the up with new UK paper mill". Tetra Pak. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  19. ^ "Recycling: Slim Waste". Tetra Pak. Archived from the original on 2012-11-17. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  20. ^ "GreenBottle's international environmental awards success". Packaging Europe. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  21. ^ Sveccha. "Category Shortlists Announced". International Green Awards. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
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