11.14.22
Bacardi, the world’s largest privately held spirits company, is cutting approximately 140 tons of single-use plastic annually by removing plastic pourers from its bottles in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Spain and Portugal.
The plastic Non-Refillable Fitment (NRF) is commonplace throughout the spirits industry and is currently found in the neck of a number of the company’s iconic drink brands, including Bacardi rum, Martini Fiero, Bombay Sapphire gin and Dewar’s White Label blended Scotch whisky.
The removal has already begun, and by early next year, all 1.75 liter bottles of Bacardi rum – including Superior, Gold and Coconut – in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico will no longer contain the plastic pourer, cutting 76 tons of plastic annually.
In Spain and Portugal, the plastic pourer will be removed from all brands in the Bacardi portfolio over the next six months.
“We are making this bold move because it’s the right thing to do for the planet,” says Rodolfo Nervi, VP, global safety, quality and sustainability, Bacardi. “As a family-owned company for more than 160 years, pioneering change is in our DNA, and we’re proud to be leading the industry as we take another huge step towards achieving our commitment to be 100% plastic free by 2030.”
Bacardi is reviewing every way in which it is currently using plastic and exploring whether it can be removed or replaced with a more sustainable alternative. A major milestone will be reached in 2023, when the company will remove all single-use plastic from its gift packs and point-of-sale materials.
Rodolfo Nervi adds, “Consumers will continue to enjoy the same exceptional quality and taste from our entire portfolio of brands as we continue on our journey to a more sustainable future.”
Find out more about Bacardi and its ESG – Environmental, Social & Governance – commitments, including its alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, at www.bacardilimited.com/good-spirited.
“California’s bottle bill recycling program has needed fixing for 40 years,” says Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins. “When you consider that California generates more than one billion wine and liquor bottles every year, that shows what major progress this legislation is and what an impact it will have.”
California’s recycling program previously included beer cans and bottles, but not wine or spirits containers.
Consumers in California pay a nickel each time they buy a 12-ounce bottle or can and a dime for containers over 24 ounces. Aside from including bottles and cans containing wine or spirits, the new law adds a 25-cent deposit and refund for wine and distilled spirits sold in a box, bag or pouch.
Hawaii, Iowa, Maine and Vermont already have deposit programs including those containers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“While spirits bottles are already recycled at a high rate in the state of California, it is our hope the new law’s incentive for consumers to participate will help increase that rate even more,” notes Adam Smith, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States’ vice president of state government relations.
Buyers are supposed to get their deposits back by returning the containers, so the containers don’t go into landfills but can be recycled into new products. But they have had more difficulty doing so in recent years because many neighborhood recycling centers closed.
The law also attempts to address that problem by allowing dealers to form a cooperative organization to collect the containers as an alternative to the current law that requires stores to take back the empties.
It passed the Legislature with no opposition, but groups criticized the bill’s inclusion of nearly $400 million over the next five years for market development and quality incentives, money that they contended is pork for already wealthy corporations.
The plastic Non-Refillable Fitment (NRF) is commonplace throughout the spirits industry and is currently found in the neck of a number of the company’s iconic drink brands, including Bacardi rum, Martini Fiero, Bombay Sapphire gin and Dewar’s White Label blended Scotch whisky.
The removal has already begun, and by early next year, all 1.75 liter bottles of Bacardi rum – including Superior, Gold and Coconut – in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico will no longer contain the plastic pourer, cutting 76 tons of plastic annually.
In Spain and Portugal, the plastic pourer will be removed from all brands in the Bacardi portfolio over the next six months.
“We are making this bold move because it’s the right thing to do for the planet,” says Rodolfo Nervi, VP, global safety, quality and sustainability, Bacardi. “As a family-owned company for more than 160 years, pioneering change is in our DNA, and we’re proud to be leading the industry as we take another huge step towards achieving our commitment to be 100% plastic free by 2030.”
Bacardi is reviewing every way in which it is currently using plastic and exploring whether it can be removed or replaced with a more sustainable alternative. A major milestone will be reached in 2023, when the company will remove all single-use plastic from its gift packs and point-of-sale materials.
Rodolfo Nervi adds, “Consumers will continue to enjoy the same exceptional quality and taste from our entire portfolio of brands as we continue on our journey to a more sustainable future.”
Find out more about Bacardi and its ESG – Environmental, Social & Governance – commitments, including its alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, at www.bacardilimited.com/good-spirited.
California adds wine and spirits bottles to recycling program
California will add wine and liquor bottles to its recycling rebate program under a law taking effect in July 2024.“California’s bottle bill recycling program has needed fixing for 40 years,” says Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins. “When you consider that California generates more than one billion wine and liquor bottles every year, that shows what major progress this legislation is and what an impact it will have.”
California’s recycling program previously included beer cans and bottles, but not wine or spirits containers.
Consumers in California pay a nickel each time they buy a 12-ounce bottle or can and a dime for containers over 24 ounces. Aside from including bottles and cans containing wine or spirits, the new law adds a 25-cent deposit and refund for wine and distilled spirits sold in a box, bag or pouch.
Hawaii, Iowa, Maine and Vermont already have deposit programs including those containers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“While spirits bottles are already recycled at a high rate in the state of California, it is our hope the new law’s incentive for consumers to participate will help increase that rate even more,” notes Adam Smith, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States’ vice president of state government relations.
Buyers are supposed to get their deposits back by returning the containers, so the containers don’t go into landfills but can be recycled into new products. But they have had more difficulty doing so in recent years because many neighborhood recycling centers closed.
The law also attempts to address that problem by allowing dealers to form a cooperative organization to collect the containers as an alternative to the current law that requires stores to take back the empties.
It passed the Legislature with no opposition, but groups criticized the bill’s inclusion of nearly $400 million over the next five years for market development and quality incentives, money that they contended is pork for already wealthy corporations.