IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jresou/v14y2025i2p23-d1579780.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Recycled Glass Bottles for Craft-Beer Packaging: How to Make Them Sustainable? An Environmental Impact Assessment from the Combined Accounting of Cullet Content and Transport Distance

Author

Listed:
  • Magdalena Wojnarowska

    (Department of Technology and Ecology of Products, Cracow University of Economics, Rakowicka 27, 31-510 Cracow, Poland)

  • Magdalena Muradin

    (Department of Quality Management, Poznań University of Economics and Business, Niepodległości 10, 61-875 Poznań, Poland)

  • Annarita Paiano

    (Department of Economics, Management and Business Law, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Piazza Umberto I, 1, 70121 Bari, Italy)

  • Carlo Ingrao

    (Department of Economics, Management and Business Law, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Piazza Umberto I, 1, 70121 Bari, Italy)

Abstract

Effective waste management plays a vital role in advancing sustainability goals across industries, with particular relevance to glass manufacturing—a sector that generates significant environmental challenges due to its resource-intensive production processes and high waste generation. The scale of production results in the accumulation of substantial amounts of waste glass, which, if not efficiently managed, contributes to environmental degradation. In this context, craft-beer production, which increasingly relies on glass bottles for packaging, presents unique challenges and opportunities for implementing sustainable practices. The sector faces trade-offs between increasing the use of recycled glass (cullet) and addressing the environmental impacts associated with transporting materials over long distances. The combination of centralized waste processing systems and long-distance transport adds economic and environmental costs, with transportation contributing up to 60–80% of overall waste management expenses. Addressing these issues requires an integrated approach that evaluates critical variables, such as cullet content and transport logistics, to identify solutions that balance economic and environmental efficiency. This study addresses the pressing issue of optimizing the recycling of glass bottles for craft-beer packaging by examining the combined influence of cullet content and transport distance on environmental sustainability. The objective was to assess the environmental impacts associated with varying levels of cullet content (0%, 57%, and 90%) and transport distances (25 to 250 km) using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology aligned with ISO standards and the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs). The analysis demonstrated that increasing the proportion of recycled glass and reducing transport distances are key to improving environmental efficiency in bottle production. The most environmentally favorable scenario, S03 (90% cullet content), remains effective even at greater transport distances. In contrast, scenario S02 (57% cullet content) requires further distance reductions to maintain efficiency, particularly beyond 150 km. These findings highlight the importance of shorter supply chains and higher recycled material content as essential steps toward sustainable glass bottle production for the craft-beer industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Magdalena Wojnarowska & Magdalena Muradin & Annarita Paiano & Carlo Ingrao, 2025. "Recycled Glass Bottles for Craft-Beer Packaging: How to Make Them Sustainable? An Environmental Impact Assessment from the Combined Accounting of Cullet Content and Transport Distance," Resources, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-23, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jresou:v:14:y:2025:i:2:p:23-:d:1579780
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/14/2/23/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/14/2/23/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michał Lasota & Aleksandra Zabielska & Marianna Jacyna & Piotr Gołębiowski & Renata Żochowska & Mariusz Wasiak, 2024. "Method for Delivery Planning in Urban Areas with Environmental Aspects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Cecere, Grazia & Mancinelli, Susanna & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2014. "Waste prevention and social preferences: the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 163-176.
    3. Chang, Yuan & Lei, Shuhua & Teng, Jianjian & Zhang, Jiangxue & Zhang, Lixiao & Xu, Xiao, 2019. "The energy use and environmental emissions of high-speed rail transportation in China: A bottom-up modeling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 1193-1201.
    4. Stefano Cucurachi & Thomas P. Seager & Valentina Prado, 2017. "Normalization in Comparative Life Cycle Assessment to Support Environmental Decision Making," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(2), pages 242-243, April.
    5. Christian Garavaglia & Johan Swinnen (ed.), 2018. "Economic Perspectives on Craft Beer," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-319-58235-1, July.
    6. Joanna Kulczycka & Anna Lewandowska & Katarzyna Joachimiak-Lechman & Przemysław Kurczewski, 2024. "The Circularity of Materials from the Perspective of a Product Life Cycle: A Life Cycle Assessment Case Study of Secondary Fence Boards—Part 1 (Baseline Scenario)," Resources, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-15, April.
    7. Sadjady Naeeni, Hannan & Sabbaghi, Navid, 2022. "Sustainable supply chain network design: A case of the glass manufacturer in Asia," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    8. Joanna Kulczycka & Anna Lewandowska & Katarzyna Joachimiak-Lechman & Przemysław Kurczewski, 2024. "The Circularity of Materials from the Perspective of the Product Life Cycle: A Case Study of Secondary Fence Board, Part 2 (Scenario Analysis)," Resources, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-19, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Grouiez, Pascal & Debref, Romain & Vivien, Franck-Dominique & Befort, Nicolas, 2023. "The complex relationships between non-food agriculture and the sustainable bioeconomy: The French case," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    2. Jesuina Chipindula & Hongbo Du & Venkata S. V. Botlaguduru & Doeun Choe & Raghava R. Kommalapati, 2022. "Life cycle environmental impact of a high-speed rail system in the Houston-Dallas I-45 corridor," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 481-501, June.
    3. Zhipeng Tang & Ziao Mei & Jialing Zou, 2021. "Does the Opening of High-Speed Railway Lines Reduce the Carbon Intensity of China’s Resource-Based Cities?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-18, July.
    4. Degli Antoni, Giacomo & Vittucci Marzetti, Giuseppe, 2019. "Recycling and Waste Generation: An Estimate of the Source Reduction Effect of Recycling Programs," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 321-329.
    5. Israel‐Javier Juma‐Michilena & Maria‐Eugenia Ruiz‐Molina & Irene Gil‐Saura & Sergio Belda‐Miquel, 2023. "How to increase students' motivation to engage in university initiatives towards environmental sustainability," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(3), pages 1304-1323, July.
    6. Chen, Yu & Zhao, Changyi & Chen, Shan & Chen, Wenqing & Wan, Kunyang & Wei, Jia, 2023. "Riding the green rails: Exploring the nexus between high-speed trains, green innovation, and carbon emissions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    7. Azzurra Annunziata & Massimiliano Agovino & Aniello Ferraro & Angela Mariani, 2020. "Household Food Waste: A Case Study in Southern Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-13, February.
    8. Kym Anderson & Vicente Pinilla, 2022. "Wine's belated globalization, 1845–2025," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(2), pages 742-765, June.
    9. Ceccantoni, Giulia & Tarola, Ornella & Zanaj, Skerdilajda, 2018. "Green Consumption and Relative Preferences in a Vertically Differentiated International Oligopoly," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 129-139.
    10. Antonio Massarutto & Francesco Silvestri, 2015. "Free municipal waste trade as an incentive to recycling. A theoretical study," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(3), pages 89-107.
    11. Guo, Guisong & Li, Xiaodong & Zhu, Chen & Wu, Yankun & Chen, Jian & Chen, Peng & Cheng, Xi, 2025. "Establishing benchmarks to determine the embodied carbon performance of high-speed rail systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    12. Barone, Giovanni & Buonomano, Annamaria & Forzano, Cesare & Palombo, Adolfo, 2020. "Enhancing trains envelope – heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems: A new dynamic simulation approach for energy, economic, environmental impact and thermal comfort analyses," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    13. Filippo Corsini & Natalia Marzia Gusmerotti & Edoardo Bartoletti & Francesco Testa & Andrea Appolloni & Fabio Iraldo, 2024. "Addressing Plastic Concern: Behavioral Insights into Recycled Plastic Products and Packaging in a Circular Economy," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 4(3), pages 1961-1981, September.
    14. D'Amato, Alessio & Giaccherini, Matilde & Zoli, Mariangela, 2019. "The Role of Information Sources and Providers in Shaping Green Behaviors. Evidence from Europe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1-1.
    15. Massimiliano Cerciello, 2021. "Spatial patterns in food waste at the local level. A preliminary analysis for Italian data," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 83-101, February.
    16. Gaetano Musella & Massimiliano Agovino & Mariaconcetta Casaccia & Alessandro Crociata, 2019. "Evaluating waste collection management: the case of macro-areas and municipalities in Italy," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 21(6), pages 2857-2889, December.
    17. Tang, Honghong & Li, Lin & Su, Song, 2022. "Experiencing less leads to the use of more: The effect of a scarcity mindset on product usage," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 139-148.
    18. Yu Jia & Yunqian Wang & Piao Li & Shuang Gao, 2024. "Economic Communication: The Influence of High-Speed Rail on Urban-Rural Income Inequality in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 174(1), pages 47-73, August.
    19. Vollaard, Ben & van Soest, Daan, 2024. "Punishment to promote prosocial behavior: a field experiment," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    20. Xiangjing Zeng & Yong Ma & Jie Ren & Biao He, 2022. "Analysis of the Green Development Effects of High-Speed Railways Based on Eco-Efficiency: Evidence from Multisource Remote Sensing and Statistical Data of Urban Agglomerations in the Middle Reaches of," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-20, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jresou:v:14:y:2025:i:2:p:23-:d:1579780. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.