Major Increase in Bulk Importing of Wine, says WRAP

Bulk importing of wine into the UK has significantly increased in the last 12 months, according to WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme).

The latest figures from UK wine fillers taking part in the GlassRite Wine project indicate that the number of 75cl bottles filled with bulk imported wine increased by 54% between July 2006 and June 2007, compared with the previous 12 months.

This has resulted in an extra 20,000 tonnes of lightweighted glass bottles being produced in the UK, which have in-turn led to the consumption of an additional 14,000 tonnes of recycled glass.

Launched in 2006, GlassRite Wine encourages wine importers, brand owners and retailers to bulk import wine and then bottle it in lighter glass bottles manufactured in the UK.

Andy Dawe, WRAP’s head of retail programmes, said: “This is very encouraging as it demonstrates that the work of all the GlassRite Wine partners is delivering real results.

“By encouraging the industry to bulk import wine and bottle it here in the UK, we are reducing the amount of green glass entering our recycling systems, increasing the domestic market for recycled glass and also increasing the use of lighter weight bottles, which use less raw material and are better for the environment.”

He added: “As well as cutting glass waste, this approach also improves the industry’s carbon emissions profile, and saves money by reducing transport and energy costs.”

The news has been welcomed by the UK glass sector. British Glass director general David Workman said: “Bulk importing is not only good for brand owners, but is also good for consumers and has benefits for glass makers. Bulk importing and the associated lightweighting of glass bottles demonstrates the flexibility of the glass packaging industry to work closely with partners and customers to deliver significant environmental benefits throughout the supply chain."

The environmental benefits of bulk importing were underlined in May when WRAP published a study titled “Bottling Wine in a Changing Climate”. It showed that significant reductions in CO₂ emissions from the transportation of wine can be achieved by converting wine from shipping in bottles to bulk importation. This can reduce emissions by 30% to 40%. In addition, lighter glass bottles have the potential to achieve reductions of up to 30%.

Even greater reductions are possible by combining the benefits of bulk shipping and bottling in the UK into the lightest 300g glass bottles. This can result in 375g CO₂ savings for every 75cl bottle of wine.