Environment

Glass container manufacturer O-I has produced a range of lightweight mineral water bottles for London-based bottle stockist A.E. Chapman.

The bottles are available in a range of sizes, from 200ml to 750ml, in two designs – one with prominent shoulders, the other with a sloping design.

O-I said the 70ml bottle weighed 70g less than the previous version A.E. Chapman used, while the 330ml and 500ml bottles saved 30g and 60g, respectively.

A.E. Chapman director Andre Chapman said the "negligible change in shape", produced using O-I's narrow neck press and blow (NNPB) process, reduced the need for changes to filling lines.

Chapman added that the main drivers behind the move to lighter weight bottles were cost and a way to mediate glass shortages on the market, but he said the responsibility for improved glass recycling lay with the government.

"The cost of putting more information on bottles, in terms of extra labels, could outweigh the advantages gained from increased recycling resulting from the extra information.

"The government needs to do more, and not just through taxing waste, because at the moment the attitude seems to be to tell people what they can't recycle rather than what they can do," Chapman added.