Wrap looks to boost recycled glass content

The Waste and Resources Action Programme partnered with Sainsbury’s to determine if consumers would accept packaging with a slightly green hue in place of a clear glass one.

Glass Technology Services, a subsidiary of British Glass, conducted the research and found that, in most cases, using a container with 90% mixed-colour content did not have a detrimental effect on the purchase decision.

A total of 79 men and women across a range of ages took part in the study, in which mayonnaise was found to be the only product that was preferred in clear glass. Participants actually preferred the jar that contained a large amount of mixed-colour recyclate.

Paula Chin, Sainsbury’s grocery packaging technologist, said: “Ultimately, it’s about getting the customer offer right and if our customers are interested [in more recycled content] we are interested.

“The positive results from this small-scale study would give Sainsbury’s the confidence to explore further the opportunity to use recycled glass containers.”

The background to the survey is the need to recover the high proportion of glass that is collected in co-mingled collections rather than source separated, which Wrap considers the best method for glass recycling.

The glass industry has pointed out that the volume of green glass consumed from imported wines has traditionally exceeded demand for new bottles as a lot of UK firms use clear containers.

Last month, British Glass said firms were looking overseas for cullet as co-mingled collections were ruining the quality of available material.

Wrap director of market development Marcus Gover said the study should give retailers more confidence to use more recycled glass “in the knowledge it will not adversely affect sales”.

“This is good news for the recycling industry as it could help stimulate a high-value market for mixed colour recycled glass in the UK. This in turn may provide the impetus to divert more of the glass into closed-loop recycling,” he said.

Wrap is currently tendering for a large-scale trial to manufacture bottles that it hopes will use at least 30,000 tonnes of mixed-colour cullet that would otherwise go to landfill or secondary markets. The closing date for tenders is 12.30pm, Friday 9 October. For more information, click here.

SURVEY FINDINGS
 
All of the alcohol products – Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay, whisky, gin – as well as the jam from the regular Sainsbury’s range, showed no significant difference on any of the ratings scales.

The majority of the other products all showed some differences on some of the ratings scales between the two different types of glass containers. The exceptions were jam from Sainsbury’s ‘basics’ range – customers indicated they were more likely to purchase the product in a recycled glass jar rather than a clear jar – and pasta sauce – where the product in the clear container was rated as being more appetising than that in the recycled glass container.

The main differences were found for both of the mayonnaise products – ‘basics’ and ‘regular’. For both, the clear glass jar was rated significantly higher on seven of the ratings scales. Consumers rated the product in the clear glass container as: more likely to be purchased, as being of higher quality, as purer, as more typical a container for the product, as more pleasing, as more appetising, and as being fresher than the mayonnaise in the recycled glass jar.

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