The future of eco-friendly alternative wine packaging
Over the past couple of months, we’ve been looking into alternative wine packaging. The packaging technologies we’ve investigated are bag in box (BIB), Tetra Pak, and plastic wine bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
Interest in alternative packaging increased dramatically last year when the price of oil headed toward $150 per barrel. You might think that interest would be slowing with the dropping price of oil, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Everyone I talked to told me they see continued growth across all types of alternative wine packaging, and the rate of acceptance appears to be accelerating. The main reason for the market’s continued growth are lower manufacturing and delivery costs combined with a desire to reduce the environmental impact of a bottle of wine.
Do BIB, Tetra Pak, or PET plastic bottles have the lowest carbon footprint?
Our investigations found that all three main alternatives to glass wine bottles – BIB, Tetra Pak and PET bottles – reduce the carbon footprint of wine compared to glass bottles. The major carbon savings come from the reduction in weight associated with shipping the wine and the energy savings associated with manufacturing the container. Which of the three alternatives is the most “green” depends largely on how far the wine is shipped, what method(s) of transportation is used, how much of the container is recycled, and how the “renewable resources” that are used to manufacture the container are managed.
For example, PET bottles are the lightest of the three alternatives, but they have a somewhat higher carbon footprint of manufacture. This combination makes the PET bottle an attractive alternative for shipping wine from France to California by air. The lightweight PET bottle’s transportation footprint offsets its carbon footprint of manufacture compared to BIB or Tetra Pak.
If, on the other hand, you are shipping wine by truck or boat, the increased packing efficiencies of Tetra Pak and BIB, coupled with the fact that the paper associated with their packaging can be recycled, makes them the greener choice. The battle to be the greenest between Tetra Pak and BIB comes down to a technical debate on the carbon footprint associated with the closures, the cost and effectiveness of recycling efforts, and the efficiency of renewable resource utilization. Suffice it to say that either choice is currently more earth-friendly than a traditional glass bottle, but which approach wins head-to-head is still to be decided.
One potentially undesirable element used in all alternative wine packaging is plastic. The PET bottle is made almost entirely of it. The “bag” in the bag-in-box is made of it, the Tetra Pak container is lined with it, and the closures for both BIB and Tetra Pak are made from it. All plastic is somewhat difficult to recycle, and when it is recycled it is generally used to make things that end up in a landfill. The Tetra Pak container uses the least amount of plastic, giving it the smallest theoretical footprint in a landfill.
Markets for alternative wine packaging
If you want to buy and try wine in alternative packaging, there are a few trends that might influence your choices. For example, many of the wines that you will find in alternative packaging will be imported. Imported wines travel further to get to your table and therefore benefit the most from the reduced weight of the alternative packaging. Additionally, wineries outside the US already use a lot more BIB and Tetra Pak containers, so all they have to do is ship their product to the US.
Expect wines that are packaged using BIB to improve, but only so much. By its very nature, BIB is more suited for storing wine in quantities of 3 or more liters, which is 4 standard bottles. Folks are willing to buy multiple bottles of a single wine, but if they have to drink all four bottles before drinking something else they may think twice, particularly if they are a wine geek. Reducing the influence of the wine geeks also means that there is a limit on the “per bottle price” of wine sold as BIB. I suspect that the limit is somewhere below $12.50 per standard bottle. Few folks are going to be willing to pay $50 for a box of wine.
Look for wine shipped in Tetra Pak to emphasize the green aspect of the packaging. Many of these wines will follow Yellow + Blue and go organic or biodynamic as well. I also suspect that you will start to see Tetra Pak “3-packs” of their 250 ml wines. This distribution format is very flexible, allowing the consumer to open only the wine they want to drink right then. The “pack” approach is tailor made for drinking wine during outdoor activities, especially where glass is prohibited.
Whether you are looking for an inexpensive party wine, this year’s Nouveau Beaujolais, or an organic wine from Argentina, alternative wine packaging has something to offer all wine drinkers.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I have bought a few different wines packaged as Tetra Pak. I thought it was a great format. I think the 3 offerings of 250 mL idea would be a real hit.
Still, like the screw-top enclosure they may be growing in acceptance, but I think they are a ways off from actually being accepted by the mainstream.
Dear Neil,
you may be a wine connoisseur - your knowledge on plastics recycling apperas to need some refreshment: PET recycling is one of the most developed processes, final products can be bottles again or e.g. the lining of your outdoor jacket. Plastics closures (mostly PP or PE) are particularly looked after secobdary raw materials which are e.g. recycled into car parts.
Hermann,
I agree that PET recycling can be done in ways that allow a high degree of re-use, however, these recycling efforts have yet to be embraced to the same degree that paper and glass have. In fact, in the US often plastic, including PET is collected for recycling and simply added to the landfill. The problem is more widespread now that the price paid for material pulled from the trash as dropped significantly.
Cheers,
Neil
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