O-I’s Lean and Green bottles win 2009 Packaging Evolution awards

O-I’s Lean and Green lightweight wine bottles have won two significant awards at the 2009 Packaging Evolution Awards in Sydney.

Lean and Green was a finalist in three award categories: the Beverage Packaging Action, Most Innovative Solution In Packaging Waste Management and Most Outstanding Demonstration of Packaging Waste Management in Australia. Its win in the Most Innovative Solution In Packaging Waste Management category was followed by the prestigious overall Best In Show award, selected from the winners of the event’s 10 categories.

O-I Asia Pacific President Greg Ridder said the awards were fantastic recognition of making sustainable innovation a reality for O-I and its customers.

“We truly believe O-I’s Lean and Green wine bottles are products for their time when you consider the issues of sustainability, emissions, energy and moderation of packaging and resources,” Ridder said.

“It’s a win/win situation when you can deliver products that are lighter, use less energy and water, and are also more freight efficient, particularly when brand owners can maintain their product’s image at the same time.”

Ridder said Lean and Green was also a key method of partnering the Australian wine industry to retain its premium look and feel and help prevent bottling occurring away from source.

Launched in Australia and the United Kingdom in May, Lean and Green wine bottles are between 18 and 28% lighter than their predecessors.

New narrow neck press and blow (NNPB) technology at O-I’s Adelaide plant delivers the substantially lighter-weight and more environmentally friendly bottles that will immediately save almost 20,000 tonnes of glass packaging a year.
O-I anticipates this figure could treble inside two years as the Australian wine industry embraces the product and O-I adds more NNPB capability to its facilities.

In addition to less glass, the production process for the lighter-weight bottles provides strong environmental benefits such as:

• A 20% reduction in energy use to produce the same number of bottles;
• A carbon dioxide saving of more than 11,130 tonnes of CO₂ per annum;
• An average 12% drop in water usage per container;
• Overall water savings of 4720 kL or the equivalent of 6.3 Olympic swimming pools a year; and
• 840 more bottles packed into a 20 ft shipping container (an increase of 6.25%).