Materials News

PET bottle comes on board

Air Transat charter airline in Montreal, one of Canada's largest charter airlines, adopted the use of a lightweight 1L PET wine bottle for sustainability advantages, according to Aldo Geloso, an executive with Societe de Vin Internationale. "We introduced the concept and they quickly came on board because of a vital need to reduce weight on their aircraft and consequently reduce fuel costs," explained Geloso. The company will target other airlines while also considering barrier PET bottles for other products such as cider in smaller sizes like 330 ml and 500 ml.

The 54g PET stock bottle is one-eighth the weight of the previous 430 g glass container. It is used for Societe de Vin Internationale's 1L Claret wine format for its Costabella, Viejos Robles, Massaria, and Bergerie du Loup wine brands.

The 1L bottle is a first in this format for Amcor, which previously developed smaller 187 ml and 750 ml containers. The container uses unique barrier coating technology developed by Germany's KHS Plasmax GmbH. The company expects continued growth for barrier PET bottles in a range of sizes for wine.

The KHS Plasmax silicone oxide (SiOx) barrier coating seals the container from the inside to protect the contents from oxidation. Plasmax is an FDA-compliant enhanced passive barrier for oxygen sensitive products. This ultra thin (less than 100nm) material is transparent and resists cracking, abrasion and delamination. Moreover, it doesn't degrade over time nor limit the storage time for empty bottles. The barrier coating is easily removed during the recycling process and does not contaminate the recycling stream.

Since consumer feedback has been favourable for the aluminium screw-cap bottle, Societe de Vin Internationale is considering a retail launch later this year in Quebec grocery stores.