Friday, 11 May 2012

ECO-FRIENDLY WINE/BEER

Making Wine/Beer Eco-Friendly

       problems associated:

  • Wine and other alcoholic drink bottle use quite thick glass.The glass make approx 40% of the total weight of the full bottle.Thus the tare weight of a full wine bottle is comparatively high to its gross weight.This increased weight causes increase in transportation cost and so the carbon footprints.These bottle creates a huge sum of glass wastes which is recycled or send to sanitary landfills.
  • Wine and beer bottle seals age often coated by capsule(which is made of Lead).It may contaminate the drink while opening the seal/cork. The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution recommended to prepare report on Lead in alcoholic beverages.It was found that about 90% of the canned and bottle beers contain less than or equal to 10 micrograms /ltr of lead,where as half the draught beers samples contained greater than10 micrograms/ltr.It is concluded that consumption of beer containing 50 microgram/ltr. lead could significantly increase blood lead level.                  [ref.:Lead in alcoholic beverages.Sherlock JCPickford CJWhite GF.]                                                                                                                  
  • Alochol industry generated waste water increases the BOD of the water bodies.Other environment related problems include High Carbon emission and solid waste generation.                                                                                                                                                                                               Sollutions suggested:

  1. wine should be exported in bulk from the production farms and canned/bottled close to the market.
         It will reduce the transportation cost and so the carbon footprints.
         Also the local bottle making and recycling market will have positive influence.

    2.  Box-wine is other choice in packeging. It is more eco-friendly than the bottle wine     
         but the wine can be stored for limited time(~12 months).
    
    3. Tetra-Pack is yet another option.It is being used widely due to its several 
         usefulness.
        
    4.Using capsule (foil) made up of some safe material eg.aluminium,plastic etc.

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