UK : Glass Project To Save 48,000 Tonnes Of Carbon Emisson

If successful, the project could save 65,000 tonnes of glass and 48,000 tonnes of carbon emissions by 2009 – the equivalent of taking 28,000 cars off the road. GlassRite Food, a new project funded by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), will promote the use of innovative lightweight glass containers for food products, soft drinks and flavoured alcoholic beverages (FABs).The project aims to save 20,000 tonnes of glass by its completion in March 2008, and to roll-out the project results to create momentum for a further 45,000 tonnes to be saved in the first year following the project. A range of new container designs will be developed, trialled and launched, in order to take advantage of the commercial and environmental benefits of moving to lightweight containers.Container designs will be put through rigorous trials to test their strength, practicality and consumer appeal. Experts from the University of Wales, Bangor, will conduct detailed consumer perception tests, while hi-tech wireless sensors will be placed inside containers to assess performance during handling, filling and packaging.



GlassRite Food will be led by R&D specialists Faraday Packaging Partnership, with support from the trade association British Glass. Several leading glass manufacturers, including Allied Glass Containers, O-I, Rockware Glass, Beatson Clark and Quinn Glass, have already agreed to participate, and the project team is now calling on retailers and brand owners to sign up.