“The decision to end PET bottles is related to a long-term effort to minimize the impact of our business on the environment,” said Communications Director Pavlína Kalousová. She added that the company’s goal is the highest possible reuse of packaging or their production from used packaging, recycled.
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However, PET beer bottles cannot be reused for the production of new beer bottles. The main obstacle is the inner protective membrane necessary to maintain the quality of beer. Therefore, the company abandoned them. He started filling beer into PET bottles two years ago, when he stopped using this packaging for Gambrinus, Radegast and Klasik beers.
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“By ending the bottling of beer in plastic packaging, we will save over 1,300 tons of plastic a year,” said Kalousová. Prazdroj thus offers beer only in
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The Pilsen PET bottling line was put into operation in 2011 and had a capacity of 18,000 bottles per hour. “The last filled bottle was the Primus bottle last December 10, which ended the operation of the line. During that time, 3.8 million hectoliters of beer were filled on it. We will now dismantle the bottling line for PET bottles, ”said Kovář. Prazdroj had the largest share of beer in PET bottles, about seven percent, in 2014 and 2015. In recent years, the share has ranged between three and four percent, he added.
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According to Prazdroj, about two-thirds of consumers have switched from beer in PET bottles to glass returnable bottles, and a third buy cans instead of PET. “The advantage of aluminum is that it can be recycled virtually indefinitely, while the quality of the material remains the same. If an advance system is introduced, it will be possible to produce new cans from old cans almost completely, ”said Kalousová.
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According to her, recycled cans have up to 80 percent lower carbon footprint and consume five percent of energy compared to aluminum cans, which must be re-mined. The company is working with suppliers to increase the share of recycled aluminum, they are currently at 50 percent.
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