• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

Craft Brewing Business Craft Brewing Business
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment & Systems
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • COVID-19

A look at recycling (and removing) plastics in the beer industry

January 22, 2020Emma Iammarino

Paktech
PakTech grounds up the used carriers and makes new ones.

Recycling plastics and other products is becoming more popular in businesses. As part of this, many large beer companies are finding new ways to be more eco-friendly and alter their distribution of products. Some breweries are finding new ways to reuse their plastics that they utilize in packaging and are also exploring other eco-friendly options.

Here are a few of the unique solutions we have seen.

Carlsberg Group

Carlsberg Group is one of the leading brewers in the world today. Their large array of beer and beverage products are sold in 150 different markets. Carlsberg Group is producing prototypes for a “paper bottle” with their beer. In an effort to become a more eco-friendly business, the prototype for their bottle uses recycled polyethylene terephthalate. This polymer barrier acts as the lining in the bottle. 

Carlsberg paper bottle

Carlsberg is titling this the “Green Fibre Bottle,” and it’s sustainably sourced from wood fibers. The company’s goal with this bottle is to encourage a breakthrough in the industry of keeping materials fully recyclable.

East End Brewing recycling can carriers

East End Brewing Co. is a Pittsburgh brewer selling local beer since 2004. They are a pub that also distributes kegs, cans and giant bottles. The Pittsburgh City Paper states the East End Brewing is going green and finding new ways to use recycled plastics. They informed their customers about a new installation of bins to collect hard plastic carriers that package their craft beer. Partnering with PakTech, the plastic company grounds up the used carriers and makes new ones. These new carriers are made of 100 percent post-recycled material. 

Other ideas from edible can carriers to stackable cans

A lot of large brewing companies are trying to tackle the issue of the plastic packaging around craft beer. They are searching for creative answers to this problem, and here are some that have devised some options. 

Saltwater Brewery

eco-six-pack-rings-photo-2

Saltwater Brewery is a startup company based out of Florida. Their sustainability efforts were in the use of eco-friendly six-pack rings that are actually edible by animals and made of wheat and barley. Check out E6PR here.

Corona

The well-known beer Corona has introduced a new can design that uses no packing materials at all. The Fit Pak design allows for ten cans to stack on top of each other and screw together. By doing so, there is no paper, plastic or cardboard. Check out this video on the new design.

All of Oregon

Refillable six pack Oregon Recyclying Coop
A refillable six-pack from Oregon’s Recycling Coop, which we often laud.

The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC) has been administering BottleDrop, a refillable bottle program for area breweries. BottleDrop Refillable bottles are unique glass bottles that can be washed and refilled up to 25 times, making them one of the most sustainable package for craft beverages. The bottles are made locally from recycled glass and are exclusive to the state of Oregon. Each bottle is marked with “BottleDrop Refillable” on the glass as well as the label to make it easy for the consumer to recognize. Once washed and thoroughly inspected, the bottles are re-distributed back to the participating beverage producers.

Tree House Brewing

This Massachusetts brewing company crafts unique IPA’s, stouts and has delicious craft beers. They eliminated plastic packaging altogether as well. Tree House Brewing Company supplies boxes to carry out the purchases. Since they are considered the fourth largest brewery, the reduction of plastic ending up in landfills or waterways is significant. 

The Future

To reduce the environmental load, recycling plastics is essential. Let’s face it, plastic can be so detrimental to our planet and the way that we use and recycle it is vital for the future. According to Phys Org, the bio-derived plastics have been good replacements to petroleum-based ones.  

What needs improvement is the waste collection. Research suggests that there should be an increase in waste collection efforts and a potential plastic tax that excludes recycled plastics. By doing so, this can encourage companies and businesses to use recycled plastics in their products. 

Emma Iammarino works with Shini USA, BV Thermal, and Budzar Industries, leading manufacturers of industrial equipment in Ohio. 

steel keg association
Watch: Why draft beer in steel kegs is the ultimate sustainable beverage
recycling-001
Update on Massachusetts’ effort to improve plastic beer can carrier recycling in 2021
plastic-six-pack-and-wildlife-seagull
Where AB-InBev, Molson Coors, Diageo rank in the Corporate Plastic Pollution Scorecard
Crushed-1
Labeling affects recyclability of your aluminum beer cans

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. Celebrating Eco-Friendly Practices of Craft Breweries For Earth Day – PorchDrinking.com says:
    April 22, 2020 at 12:02 pm

    […] deposit program. There are 24 redemption centers around Oregon and all bottles are labeled “BottleDrop Refillable.” Also, the bottles are made to last up to 25 refills. So far, the breweries apart of the […]

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • Cadaverine: When your beer smells like dead human
  • Unfiltered: There are weevils in my grain – what do I do?
  • Festo takes new approach with VZXA angle seat valves
  • People news: Industry icon John Mallett steps down from Bell’s + moves from Craft ‘Ohana, BrewDog USA and more

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • Cadaverine: When your beer smells like dead human
    January 26, 2023
  • beer taps brain distribution cbb cropUnfiltered: There are weevils in my grain – what do I do?
    January 26, 2023
  • People news: Industry icon John Mallett steps down from Bell’s + moves from Craft ‘Ohana, BrewDog USA and more
    January 25, 2023
  • Premium beer products were one of the top growth markets of 2022, says IWSR 
    January 23, 2023
  • Fair State Brewing Cooperative launches Minnesota’s first cannabis beverage fulfillment, copacking and distribution center
    January 23, 2023
  • Fat-Tire-cansFat Tire and other craft beer legacy brand updates to know in 2023
    January 17, 2023

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2023 · CBB Media LLC