Research: Glass bottles found to be more sustainable than bag-in-box

Wine Intelligence research commissioned by Vinexposium reportedly found glass to be the most sustainable form of packaging available for wine, more sustainable than bag-in-box and other similar forms such as the “paper wine bottle” that incorporate layers of metallised film, plastic, and card, which are difficult to separate for recycling.

Over 50% of glass material entering the UK waste stream is currently recycled, and glass that ends up in landfill does not give off harmful gases or have negative effects on marine life.

The European Union's average recycling rate for glass packaging grew 2% since the previous year, reaching a record level of 78%. Supported by eleven national platforms, the multi-stakeholder stewardship partnership Close the Glass Loop has set goals to achieve a post-consumer glass container collection target of 90% by 2030.

The vast majority of the 13.7 million tonnes of glass collected in the European Union are remelt into new glass bottles. Glass is reportedly a permanent material that can be endlessly recycled into new packaging.