Glass container manufacturer Ardagh UK has reduced the weight of the 330-mL Coca Cola bottle below the 200-g level for the first time, with introduction of a new 190-g bottle. According to Ardagh, this was made possible by ongoing investment in design technology coupled with carefully targeted changes in the glass forming process.
Ardagh adds that this achievement is the result of a series of incremental improvements, which have seen the 330-mL version of the iconic contour bottle reduced in weight from 240 g in 2005 to its current weight of 190 g. During this process, Ardagh says it has been able to retain all the bottle’s trademark dimensions, and maintain quality and strength while improving environmental performance.
The lightweighting project also involves 330-mL Sprite and Fanta bottles, in addition to the smaller-sized 200-mL Coca Cola bottle, which is sometimes referred to as the “mixer” bottle. The 200-mL container has had its weight reduced in three stages during the same time frame, from 170 g in 2002 to its current weight of 140 g.
Carsten Berkau, Design Manager for Glass Europe at Ardagh Group, says, “Lightweighting is an ongoing process through well-established design and manufacturing techniques. Our task is to keep the brand shape, whilst determining the stress points and the optimum weight of a glass bottle. State-of-the-art technology ensures that when we are challenged, we can respond with even greater precision.”
Ardagh is also working with Coca Cola on a number of other innovative sustainability projects with a view of reducing energy and CO2 emissions. The installation of heat exchangers in a pilot project at Ardagh’s Dongen glass plant in the Netherlands transfers recovered energy in the form of hot water from the glass plant to Coca Cola’s nearby bottling plant.
