Green Manufacturer
Cowhorn Winery launches bottle reuse program
Thursday | 20 January 2011
Cowhorn Winery, Applegate Valley, Ore., is partnering with Wine Bottle Renew to pioneer the RINSE Project, a bioregional program that closes the loop on wine bottle waste. Of the 300 million cases of wine sold each year in the U.S., 70 percent of the bottles end up in landfills, not recycling centers, and none are being reused.
The winery ships used bottles through the program and intends to source from Wine Bottle Renew for future bottlings. The project enables the winery to cut its carbon footprint and per-bottle cost.
The program also complements the winery’s relationship with the Green Glass Co. to upcycle bottles into heirloom glassware. In partnership with the Ashland Food Co-op, the winery also maintains a co-op cork drop that sends used natural corks to Western Pulp for conversion into reusable, compostable wine packs guaranteed to contain a minimum of 99 percent recycled content.
