Glass packaging production has increased despite the energy crisis and the long wave of Covid. The princely material for containing food and beverages is appreciated by consumers and conveys wine, sparkling wine and other jewels of Made in Italy abroad. However, some critical issues pose a risk in terms of maintaining recycling and circularity targets for the sector.
Glass packaging, recovery and critical issues
In 2022, the production of bottles in Italy increased by 1.5 percent putting more than 2 billion pieces on the market, and that of jars by 2.5 percent, reports Assovetro, the Confindustria Association of Glass Industrialists.
Undermining the return to normalcy, however, are a number of critical factors pressing in: the volatility of energy prices and the rise in scrap prices to unprecedented levels, from around 25 euros/mt to 200 euros/mt.
This increase, in addition to affecting the cost of containers (scrap represents, on average, about half of the raw materials used for glass production and 1/3 of the cost of production), poses a risk in terms of maintaining the recycling and circularity goals of the sector: the cost of using scrap has now surpassed that of the raw material.
Despite continuing critical factors, the glass packaging industry has continued to grow. The year 2023 should be a settling year to allow us to meet the challenges of the future of the glass packaging industry, such as decarbonization with the search for new energy carriers. (Roberto Cardini, president of Assovetro’s container section).
Recycling and reuse, a sustainable coexistence
Reuse is the central goal of the proposed EuropeanPackaging and Packaging Waste Regulation ( PPWR). The challenge requires reshaping consumer habits and logistics (the breaking point of the environmental benefit of reuse is estimated at 100 km), as well as the creation of new business models.
In 2021, reuse involved 186,000 tons of glass containers. Especially in supply chains such as water and milk, glass lends itself perfectly to reuse because of its properties that make it foreign to any risk of chemical release and contamination.
Recycling remains essential to accompany the transition. In this, Italy excels. Recycling of glass packaging waste from separate collections reached 2.2 Mt and has a recycling rate of 76.6 percent, above the European target of 75 percent by 2030. The glass industry has pledged to reach 90 percent in 2030.
Consumers prefer glass
Consumer preference for glass packaging is well known. Because of its food safety, sustainability, and recyclability characteristics, glass has been the only packaging material to experience an average growth of 8 percent in Europe over the past three years, compared with a general decline of between 24 and 41 percent.
Three-quarters of European consumers recommend buying products packaged in glass. The share rises to 85 percent among Italians, who are also the most ‘recyclers’ in Europe: 9 out of 10 say they sort their waste. A product packaged in glass also holds more trust for 70 percent of Italians, according to the InSites 2022 Survey.
The lightness of glass packaging
In Italy, the glass industry consumes about 1.1 billion cubic meters of gas annually (about 1.5 percent of national consumption). An energy-intensive production that year after year pursues energy-saving forms in order to reduce the consumption of raw materials, energy and, consequently, CO2 emissions. In this logic, the weight of containers has been reduced: -12% wine bottles and -18% sparkling wine bottles.
The increasing use of cullet for bottle production, now reaching 90 percent in many cases, is making a difference. Every 10 percent of scrap used as a substitute for raw materials saves 2.5 percent energy and reduces CO2 emissions by 5 percent.
The Italian hollow glass industry in figures
The glass container industry, Europe’s leading manufacture, with 16 companies and 39 factories is present in almost all regions of Italy, from North to South, with a greater concentration in the North. It employs 7,800 people, almost all of them on permanent contracts.
Turnover is estimated at 2.5 billion a year. In 2022, theimport of bottles and jars increased by 11.3 percent and theexport decreased by 4.4 percent.
Five new melting furnaces (400 mln investment) will be built by 2024, providing a 12 percent increase in production capacity. Three of these will go into operation as early as the next few weeks.
Marta Strinati
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
