Another Industry First from Amcor PET Packaging: Total PCR for Liquor

As one of the most environmentally conscious spirits makers on the planet, McCormick Distilling Co. is taking another step to strengthen its reputation. They challenged Amcor PET Packaging and the result is an innovative, 100 percent Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) 50 mL PET bottle for its prestigious 360 Vodka.

The first 100 percent PCR container to be used in the liquor industry, the new bottle is being marketed by McCormick’s Earth Friendly Distilling Company division. It also strengthens Amcor’s PET industry leadership in advancing environmental issues along with its products. Amcor provided the first 100 percent PCR containers for household cleaning products in 2008, and incorporates varying percentages of PCR into PET blends for other customers.

“This new 100 percent PCR bottle is a 100 percent fit with our entire 360 Vodka profile,” said Jim Zargo, McCormick Distilling Co. President and COO. Introduced in late 2007 as “an eco-friendly first,” says Zargo, 360 Eco Luxury Vodka is crafted from natural ingredients with energy saving and other environmentally friendly practices, plus recycled and recyclable materials used throughout the entire 360 Vodka manufacturing and distribution process.

The carbon footprint of the 100 percent PCR 360 Vodka bottle is 60 percent lower than virgin PET, which Amcor supplies for other McCormick Distilling Co. brands.

Partnership, experience and supply drive decision

“This project started with our close partnership with Amcor,” Zargo said. “I visited their facility in Nicholasville (KY) since we have many projects in development. I saw Amcor’s one-step (bottle blowing) process and know they are doing quite a bit of 100 percent PCR work. Although we initially looked at glass 50 mLs because our larger 360 Vodka containers are 85 percent recycled glass, it was prohibitively expensive for a bottle size that typically is used for samplings and promotions.

“The idea of doing PCR for our 50s came up. Amcor said they could make it work and they have the supply to handle our volume. So we came back and presented the idea to go with 100 percent PCR and be the first one in the market. Everybody agreed.”

First in the market is the result of Amcor’s advanced planning and eye on the future.

“Rather than merely provide PCR to customers upon request, we are actively encouraging increased usage of PCR in their products,” said Dave Clark, Amcor PET Packaging’s Director of Sustainability. “Most other PET providers are not fully prepared to do this. PCR requires extra attention and expertise because it is more difficult to work with than virgin PET. It requires special storage, special equipment for blending, and usually only certain lines are set up to do that.”

Unlike other PET container manufacturers, Amcor is vertically integrated for Post Consumer Recycled product, providing its own supply of FDA-accepted food grade PCR from a state-of-the-art equipped facility in South Carolina. While the basic quality of recycled material collected is one factor, even more critical is the way the material is reprocessed into PCR resins.

“We have invested in new state-of-the-art PCR processing equipment and partnered with PolyQuest, a recycled material processor in South Carolina, to develop our own food grade PCR,” Clark said.

The 50 mL 360 Vodka bottles are blown on a one-stage platform. According to Michael Warkentien, Amcor’s Nicholasville Plant Manager, this is done because it makes for the most time and cost-effective method for production runs of this size.

Amcor’s PCR track record wasn’t lost on McCormick Distilling Co., when they decided to try 100 percent PCR. Knowing how to work with PCR material itself, however, is just one aspect of Amcor’s capabilities. “Our 360 brand packaging color specifications are pretty tight,” Zargo said. In the same vein, Amcor’s Clark emphasizes that “the biggest issue for a premium product such as liquor is that you need a good looking bottle and the brand color must be exactly right.”

That plays to the strength of Amcor’s crew in Nicholasville, says Warkentien.

“There’s a range of coloration with PCR. The clarity is not the same as virgin PET, but we’ve been doing this for quite awhile,” Warkentien explained. “We handle many colors, probably more than any other Amcor facility around the world. We’re also a 100 percent Diversified Products operation; all we do is specialty containers so we have all the different processes here and manage many of the smaller runs. We do a lot of non-stock, custom bottle designs and often have to come up with special colorant blends to meet specific needs, including unique colors for virgin PET containers of other McCormick brands.”

To literally cap off this end-to-end eco-friendly project, Zargo explains how he involved McCormick’s closure supplier. “The normal 18 mm caps are polypropylene (PP), a #5 in the plastics recycling world and one that is not acceptable with many recycling operations. So we insisted they make us a #2 HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) closure for our PCR PET bottle.”

More PCR packaging on tap for McCormick brands

The new 360 Vodka 50 mLs are being shipped to retailers in two ways. Bottles shrink-wrapped in 10-packs typically are put into “fishbowl” bins at point of sale. The 30-pack carton doubles as a counter display and highlights numerous resource and energy savings that result from the 360 Vodka manufacturing and distribution process.

“Our 360 Vodka is the icebreaker,” Zargo said. “We are planning to go into our other components with Amcor, including our 1.75s (liter), 750s (mL) and the like. Our goal is to take at least 25 percent PCR into our other packaging, and 100 percent PCR could become standard for all 50 mLs. We need a secure supply chain because we have plenty of volume.”

While acknowledging Amcor’s extensive PCR capabilities, Zargo cautions that each brand’s unique identity will be addressed in the process and the portfolio switch won’t happen overnight. “We’ll take it line by line and size by size.”

About Amcor: Amcor PET Packaging is the leading manufacturer of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic packaging for the global beverage, food and non-food industries with 60 facilities in 12 countries. Its parent company, Amcor Limited, offers a broad range of packaging solutions and ranks as one of the top three packaging companies in the world. Amcor’s extensive operations include 217 plants in 34 countries. It is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, reported sales revenues of $7.5 billion (U.S.).