Waitrose said it has undertaken the move to enable festival goers to enjoy a drink and also cut packaging used in the traditional glass containers for 75cl wine bottles and to also appeal to people heading to outdoor events. The plastic bottles are being launched in 15 Waitrose stores across the UK.
Commenting on the launch of the screw-top, PET wine bottle, Waitrose wine buyer, Nick Room, said the retailer was aware of issues surrounding the use of plastic as opposed to glass in the bottles.
He said: “Wine-drinkers can be quite precious about compromising on taste and quality, which is something we have been very careful to ensure doesn't happen with the new plastic packaging.”
And, Mr Room also claimed that the 100% recyclable bottles also feature an extended shelf-life which was guaranteed for at least 12 months and had been proven for up to 24 months.
M&S last month (April 30) announced that it would be converting its entire range of 25cl wine bottles to PET, which would cover a range of 19 bottles of red, white and rose wine. M&S said the PET bottles are 88% lighter than the glass equivalents.
Belinda Klenig, M&S winemaker, said: “This is really exciting for M&S as it means our customers can enjoy the same great quality wine but in much lighter bottles, which is not only easier for them to carry but better for the environment.”
The announcements will be met favourably by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), which is today (May 18) holding an industry seminar session on lightweighting and the bulk importation of wine at the London International Wine Fair.
The event, which will focus on the organisation's GlassRite project, is expected to have discussions on the barriers, achievements and the future of lightweighting in the UK wine sector.
Response
Responding to the retailers switching from glass to plastic containers for wine, Stuart Foster, project manager at plastics recycling firm Recoup, said that he did not believe that the introduction of the additional tonnage in waste plastic bottles would represent a problem for the plastics recycling sector.
He said: “It is going to be a minor part for UK [plastic] bottle recycling but if this trend was to be reproduced then our PET recyclers could take it alongside other material.
“It shouldn't be an issue on the infrastructure side of things because there is demand out there for bottle material and there are more and more recyclers out there that can handle bottles”.
However, Mr Foster did warn that additives in the bottles to prevent oxidisation could potentially prove an issue for plastics recyclers, as plastics reprocessing technology may not be able to be calibrated to take into account these materials.
And, speaking to letsrecycle.com, a glass reprocessor, who wished to remain anonymous, said he did not expect that the “current trend” for retailers to switch from wine in glass bottles to plastic would have a significant impact on glass tonnages.
He said: “From my experience, packaging works in swings and roundabouts. Glass alone makes up 27% of the total packaging industry and even if some retailers move to plastic then glass would gain some material moving from cans to glass or somewhere else.”
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