O-I Glass has officially announced the launch of its “Cento per Cento Sicilia” bottles on the market: an initiative that will lead a portion of the production of the glass bottles in Marsala’s O-I facilities to follow a low-waste circular economy path, in a historical wine production area.
The project, whose intentions had already been announced by O-I in 2021, was designed with the aim of proposing a strategy to enhance the Sicilian wine market, providing glass containers – specifically bottles – which are the result of a virtuous, sustainable and locally sourced production process. The industry of wine production is constantly expanding and evolving: more than 7,000 winemakers and 500 bottlers operate each year within a supply chain that in 2022 has produced – exclusively on the Sicilian territory – more than 86.5 million bottles.
The bottles, characterized by a customized bottom logo depicting the concept of circular economy, are made entirely within O-I’s plant in Marsala, Sicily, Italy. These bottles are made of 90 percent recycled glass (at least) sourced uniquely from Sicily and are also extremely light, weighing in at just 410g, which ensures energy savings in terms of production.
A significant part of the project relies on the citizens, who play an important role in the sorting of waste and glass, thanks to the support of SARCO, which thoroughly sorts and cleans the glass to make it available to the O-I Marsala plant – the only glasswork on the Island – which transforms it into the “Cento per Cento Sicilia” bottles. Indeed, the project also aims to make citizens and cities more aware of virtuous glass recycling – encouraging them to become more critical in their consumption of glass.
Thanks to the support and partnership with Fondazione SOStain Sicilia, once the bottles are made, they are delivered to wine producers in the region, minimizing the impact on the territory and reducing the carbon footprint to the bare minimum.