March/April 2023 - 11

TRACEABILITY
package. Its flat design allows up to 91% more product on a
pallet in transport and warehousing, and that saved space
reduces costs, cuts carbon emissions and requires fewer fuelburning
trucks on the road.
The lightweight bottle also requires less energy to make.
" It takes 255° C (about 500° F) to blow a PET bottle and
1,600° C to blow a glass bottle, " Navarro said. " That's more
than six times the temperature. "
Also, he said, " Our bottle requires 63 grams (2.2 ounces) of
infeed material versus the average glass bottle (that) would
be 500 grams and, in some cases, more. "
Recycled PET also cuts down on the emissions that come
from brand-new plastic.
" PET in its virgin format comes from oil. If you're using
new oil, then you're encouraging all the emissions related
to the extraction of virgin oil, " Navarro said.
" But if you're using above-ground carbon, then that's
already been expended and so is not calculated in your
carbon footprint calculation. "
Altogether, the reimagined shape and recycled material
result in a 50% emission savings, Navarro said. And, obviously
enough, plastic bottles make for less waste because they
don't break like glass bottles and don't require additional
packing material to prevent breakage, taking up space and
increasing shipping costs.
And there's no need to worry about oxygen filtering through
the plastic. Advanced barrier technology gives the wine a
shelf life of 19-21 months.
Packamama began producing the flat bottles using
injection stretch blowing in 2018. Sorting and processing
technologies have come a long way in those five years,
Navarro said, pointing to recent innovations in Australia
as an example.
There, production partners collect bottles to send to a
recycling plant, where they're processed, palletized and
blown into new bottles.
" It's the lowest mechanism for producing packaging because
you're recycling pretty much one bottle into another new one.
There's very little loss of material, " Navarro said.
The wine industry should be especially motivated to lower
its environmental impact, Navarro said, given its vulnerability
to climate change.
" When the industry is at risk of massive reshaping because
research shows that with two degrees of heating, 54% or
56% of the world of wine will be different, then we face a
situation where wine must pull up its socks and do better to
cut its carbon footprint, " he said.
And from a practical
standpoint, environmental
responsibility messaging goes over well with consumers,
he added.
Sustaining shelf appeal
Since the Packamama bottles launched in the U.K., France
and Australia, reaction has been mostly positive, Navarro
said. Reviews on Packamama's website compliment the bottle
design and packaging performance, while one impressive
PRODUCE PROCESS ING
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March/April 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March/April 2023
