|
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION
15 September 2008
Leading the way in the ultimate bottling choice for the future
Innovative new PET bottles a first for the South African wine and beverage industry
With the global concern surrounding the impact of man’s ‘carbon footprint’ heating up, the race to discover more sustainable methods of production has gained considerable momentum. With these increased efforts comes a revolutionary new approach to bottling, a solution the wine and beverage industries have eagerly been awaiting.
Recently making its debut in North America to well deserved acclaim, the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic container for wine has changed the face of bottling, as it offers heretofore unheard of environmental and quality benefits. The good news is that these special PET bottles are now manufactured in South Africa by Alplas Plastics and marketed through an exclusive supplier, namely BC Plastics (Pty) Ltd.
“After extensive research into this field and through studying the viability of overseas examples, we decided to develop our own PET products for the South African wine industry,” comments BC Plastics director, Chris Zietsman. “The market for these uniquely functional containers has really grown in the past year, and they are increasingly visible in some of the prominent UK retailers,” he adds.
It is a well known fact that wine is highly sensitive to oxygen and that ordinary plastic bottles allow oxygen to permeate, a major drawback when it comes to the quality preservation of wine. Most plastics offer only a passive oxygen barrier at best, allowing slow, but constant oxygen ingress to wine. They cannot thus protect the wine for the required shelf life.
A revolutionary active oxygen scavenger is the innovative technology that makes the PET containers so efficient in significantly decreasing oxygen permeability, thus prolonging shelf life.
The active oxygen scavenger binds oxygen permanently within the bottle wall and bound oxygen cannot enter the wine. This makes PET bottles a perfect solution for an extended shelf life. Protection from UV light is another benefit offered by the PET bottle. “The PET bottles we have developed, utilizing proudly South African expertise, have the potential for a shelf life of at least 12 months, and new developments aim at extending this,” explains Zietsman.
The active oxygen scavenger provides the benefit of keeping beverages looking and tasting fresh. At the same time, the monolayer construction allows for greater design freedom, while providing a highly cost effective barrier packaging solution.
In addition to its shelf life capability, PET containers offer the advantages of being unbreakable, re-sealable, recyclable and lighter in weight for reduced transportation costs and municipal solid waste.
These groundbreaking PET bottles were selected to play an instrumental role in the recent launch of a new range of fine wines from Bourgogne, France. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), a leading authority in global wine distribution, dubbed this new packaging ‘the smart bottle’, due to its immense potential for quality preservation.
Meanwhile French wine giant Boisset announced that all its Beaujolais Nouveau wines exported to the USA this year will be shipped in plastic bottles. The Burgundy producer said that the fact that the wine was air freighted to countries such as the USA meant that PET or plastic bottles were a viable and environmentally friendly alternative to glass.
The company maintains it can reduce fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions by more than half by using plastic bottles. PET bottles, said Boisset, would reduce shipping weight by 42%, while PET packaging produces 50%-60% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than glass throughout its life cycle.
A key factor in wine lovers’ consumption trends these days is a move towards making informed choices, including environmental preservation, socially ethical production methods and a greater overall sense of ‘consumer awareness’. No longer content to merely fill their shopping baskets, consumers are now acutely aware of how their choices may influence the continued existence of the planet.
Of the 30 million tons of household waste generated annually in the UK alone, around 6 million tons is packaging, with glass being one of the worst offenders. The PET bottles offer South African wine and beverage companies the opportunity to significantly reduce their carbon footprints by reducing their wine bottle weights.
The innovative new PET bottles are available in 750ml (while other capacities are in the development stage), as well as in various designs and colours. Guaranteed to enhance the overall quality of your brand, this is also a significant contribution to environmentally friendly packaging.
ENDS
For further information contact:
Chris Zietsman of BC Plastics at: chris@bcplastics.co.za.
|
