BLOG IN A BOTTLE

Waste from non-recyclable water containers is becoming a major issue, with a recent study showing that litter in the North Pacific Gyre has increased more than a hundred-fold in the past 40 years.  This week members of the European Parliament called on the European Union to seek more environmentally friendly alternatives for water, such as recyclable or refillable glass bottles.

Refilling glass bottles when you are at work or home is an excellent solution and will help to reduce the waste circulating in the world’s oceans. While any glass bottle with a resealable lid can be utilised, innovative companies are coming up with designs for refillable bottles that look attractive and can be tailored to the owner’s own personality. Like all glass, the bottles can be recycled at the end of their life and they are free of the Bisphenol-A (BPA) and other chemicals that are found in some packaging materials.

Flaska is a European company which sells refillable glass bottles. The company claims that their bottles are ‘programmed’ to change the structure of the water and make it taste like more spring water. Flaska’s bottles come in a protective sock made from either cotton or neoprene. Socks are available in different colours and patterns so you can personalise your bottle. The glass in a Flaska is thicker than that in normal bottles, making it more resistant to knocks and falls. You can become a fan on their Facebook page if you’d like to stay informed!

Tap is Terrific is another range of reusable glass bottles which is made by Faucet Face. They come with a BPA-free cap and are dishwasher safe. When you buy four of the bottles, Faucet Face donates a Biosand filter to a family without access to potable tap water. The filter eliminates around 90 to 95% of the impurities, bringing fresh clean water to remote communities around the world.

For the ultimate in personalised bottles, take a look at the range offered by Love Bottle. As well as being partially made from recycled glass, you can make the Love Bottle uniquely yours. Simply write or draw on the printed area of the bottle to personalise it. The Love Bottle also comes with a swing-top so you never lose the lid.

Do you use a refillable bottle at home, the gym or at work? How do you personalise yours? Why not share your creations, and your reasons for using reusable glass bottles at the Friends of Glass Facebook page.

On 26th March, FEVE published the latest numbers on glass recycling in Europe.

This is what it looks like:

Glass Recycling in Europe, 2010

In 2010, 68% of household glass in Europe was recycled.

This is what it represents:
- 68% is equal to 25 million glass bottles and jars.
- 20 out 25 million (80%) were recycled back into bottles and jars.
- 80% of household glass requires about 12 million tons of the planet’s natural resources (sand, limestone, soda ash) and releases 7 million tons of CO2 into our planet’s atmosphere to produce.
- 7 million tons of CO2 is approximately the same amount attributed to a small nation of cars on the road per year*.

Every 10% increase in recycled glass = a decrease of
-10% in sulfur dioxide (SO2)
-6% in nitrogen oxide (NOx)
-17% in carbon dioxide (CO2)
-2.5%°in electricity and natural gas
-6°C in furnace temperatures (during manufacturing process)
-9.5% in raw materials.
(Source: Glass Packaging Institute)

This is what it means:
These characteristics make glass a clear example to follow in the ambitious strategy of the European Commission to make the European Union a ‘resource efficient’ economy where recycling is the key factor to waste reduction and where waste is considered as a valuable resource.
(Conclusion of the Feve Study.)

*Calculated on 4 million people between ages 19 – 65 years, Switzerland:
http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/en/index/themen/01/02/blank/key/alter/gesamt.html

The Facts:
Glass jars have been around since the 1800s but it wasn’t until the after 1900 that home canning was encouraged and seen as a way to provide better diets, preserve flavor, food longevity and reduce the cost of living. By the end of the century, the decline of the family farm, the low cost of commercially canned foods and the widespread use of freezers had made home canning more of a hobby than a habit.

The Trends:
In the new millennium, we have other things on our mind. With the growing concerns over global-warming, as well as our valid worries over food safety, the relationships between food, flavor, health, packaging and sustainability are now at the forefront of our thoughts.

A trend among consumers is emerging: the desire to live a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. This has been seen in the rapid rise of organic food and farming, the return to popularity of home-cooking and preserving, and an increasing awareness and interest in our foods’ sources and ingredients.

More and more of us are realizing that the future of our planet may very well depend on where we get our food, what we choose to eat and how we decide to store it.

The Research:
Commissioned by FEVE (the European Container Glass Federation), the InSites study asked over consumers in 17 countries across Europe what they thought about various packaging materials.
In a nutshell, the survey reveals:

-          65% of consumers prefer glass because it preserves taste,
-          63% perceive that it is safest health-wise,
-          50% say it is the most environmentally-friendly.

The same kind of survey was carried out in the States in 2006 with the same results:

'Glass is Life' Awareness Campaign, USA

Furthermore, glass is the only packaging material rated “GRAS” or “generally regarded as safe” by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
(Newton Marketing & Research of Norman, Oklahoma)

Clearly, consumers agree that glass is their preferred packaging for consumer health and the environment.

Nutritious and Delicious
The InSites survey goes on to show that the preference for glass is particularly high when it comes to certain food and drink categories where flavor is everything, such as spirits, wines and beers. More than that, glass also preserves the natural aromas, tastes and textures, making it the perfect material to store fresh and perishable products as fruit juices, smoothies and tomato-based sauces.

Glass is the material of choice for chefs, in particular, Geir Skeie who knows that glass is a true food lover. The purity of glass ensures that food retains its great flavour.
WATCH THE VIDEO:

Recipes and Instructions
Why not give it a go? Here are some handy links to get you started:

Canning, The Epicurious Way
Canning Safely, Weck
Home Canning, Kaufmann Mercantile Blog
Meyer Lemon Marmalade Recipe, Kaufmann Mercantile Blog
How to Can, Fresh Preserving
Food in Jars Blog
Recipes, Saving the Season
Preserved Fruits and Sweetmeats, Jennie June’s American Cookery Book, by Jane Cunningham Croly. Google Books.
Kitchen Lighting Made From Weck Canning Jars, The Kitchn
Weck Canning Jars, Katy Elliot

Photo by: Dorling Kindersley/Getty Images

We all know we should be drinking more water, but your average water bottle is usually very unattractive and can be difficult to clean. Now Rive have launched a new range of glass water bottles that come in a range of cool colours and funky designs. They’re ideal to use at the gym or at home and are very easy to clean.

The bottles are also free of BPA, a chemical product that imitates estrogen and can be often found in plastic pacakging and bottles.

By choosing a glass water bottle you can be sure you are using a container that is made from natural minerals: sand, soda ash and limestone. A gift from nature. This ensures that the packaging doesn’t interfere with your drink.

The Rive website features a handy tool which you can use to change the design or colour of the bottle to see how it will fit in with your décor! Anyone ‘game’ enough to choose the leopard print?

A very big hello and warm welcome to Galvanina Mineral Water, our newest corporate Friend of Glass, from Rimini in Italy.

As you well know, we love our glass bottled waters and are firm believers that water does taste different, depending on its source (and of course, in the material that it’s packaged).

The source of Galvanina is pretty impressive. It was discovered more the 2000 years ago and was used by ancient Romans when they established in the region of Rimini. Here’s what Galvanina says:

The snow and rains that fall copiously on the Northern Apennine Mountains follow a long path through deep rocks and uncontaminated underground channels, on a slow but steady journey of over two years, until Galvanina Mineral Water flows pure and clear from the summit of San Lorenzo Monte near Rimini, a hill known locally as “Paradise”.

What’s pretty impressive about Galvanina is that they don’t just talk the talk: you can actually see the underground water flow. Take a look:

And of course, Galvanina is packaged perfectly in a glass bottle that won’t interfere at all with the taste inside.

Thirsty yet?

Plastiki, the innovative catamaran made of 12,000 plastic bottles which we first reported on back in September 2008, has now begun its ambitious 100-day journey from San Francisco to Sydney.

Lead by Brit adventurer and environmentalist David de Rothschild, the Plastiki and crew aim to witness some of the most devastating waste accumulation on our planet.

You can follow the expedition every step of the way:

• On Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook
• On the Plastiki Website

Here’s one of the first on-board video reports:

The Plastiki Philosophy is all about recognizing that waste is a fundamental design flaw (it does not appear in nature).  It’s about re-thinking waste as a resource. Hence the vessel has been built with waste – the very same plastic mass that clogs our oceans in the Pacific Garbage Patch.

It is estimated that almost all of the marine pollution in the world is comprised of plastic materials. The average proportion varied between 60% and 80% of total marine pollution.

According to Project Aware, 15 billion pounds of plastic are produced in the U.S. every year, and only 1 billion pounds are recycled. It is estimated that in excess of 38 billion plastic bottles and 25 million Styrofoam cups end up in landfill and although plastic bottles are 100% recyclable, on average only 20% are actually recycled.

Just last week the BBC reported that the UK’s coastlines are being swamped by plastic litter. Yet, in the same breath, we here of new government initiatives aimed at ‘improving infrastructure at coastal resorts, making them more attractive to visitors’. Unless the problem of plastic pollution is addressed, any of these new initiatives may well be in vain.

Do what you can now; tackle the waste issue by choosing materials that can be recycled again and again.

Friends of glass come in all shapes and sizes, but none so far are quite as large as Bundanoon – a whole town in Australia who have sensationally shown their commitment to the environment and recycling by outlawing plastic water bottles!

The decision, taken yesterday at a public meeting in the town, has suggested that instead of buying plastic bottles of water, anyone with a thirst will be encouraged to take a reusable container to a free water fountain in the high street. Immediately popular with the majority of residents, it was also supported by all the shops in the small New South Wales community, which has a population of 2,500.

Environmentalist Jon Dee was quoted as saying “huge amounts of resources are used to extract, bottle and transport bottled water, and much of the packaging ends up as litter or landfill. Environmentally it makes no sense!”

However, anyone concerned about punishment beatings if they were to happen into the town with a bottle of water accidentally still in hand should fear not – ‘we are also civilised people so no-one is going to get lynched if they’re seen sipping from pre-packaged water in Bundanoon’ – promises cafe owner Huw Kingston.

Read more here – and anyone from Bundanoon – do let us know if you’re happy with the decision…

Carrying a water bottle around with you is impressive, don’t you think?

It shows that you’re healthy. That you’re de-toxing, re-hydrating, oxygen-ating, hydrogen-ating or whatever-ating.

Fit people carry water bottles. In fact, at my gym (which exists only in my mind), they don’t let you in unless you carry a water bottle.

Yes. A water bottle is the must-have accessory for fitness folk. Like Hermes for the Healthy. Or Gucci for the joggers.

So why not upgrade your water bottle to glass?

Check out these glass water bottles. They look like plastic water bottles. But they’re not plastic water bottles. They’re glass.

Carry your lubrication in luxury. And be good to mother nature in the process.