Tesco and Asda have signed up to an initiative designed to reduce the amount of glass waste from the wine industry.

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap), which outlined proposals for its lightweighting initiative at the annual London International Wine & Spirits Fair in May, said it would be working with British Glass to encourage more wine importers, brand owners and retailers to bulk import wine and bottle it in lighter glass bottles made in the UK.

The government-funded body has already worked with Coors Brewers to bring to market a new lightweight 300ml Grolsch beer bottle that weighs 15% less than

its predecessor.

It will now be conducting a series of commercial trials, involving wine that is sold at Tesco and Asda.

Tesco's category technical manager Andy Gale said: "This latest initiative from Wrap is demonstrating how working together, the wine industry can effect practical changes that will significantly reduce our impact on the environment."

The UK is the largest importer of wine in the world, with more than one billion litres imported each year, 80% of it already bottled, according to Wrap.

The group's research suggests the current average weight of a 75cl bottle is 500g, although bottles of 300g are in circulation.

By encouraging the lightweighting of wine bottles, Wrap is aiming to reduce the amount of UK glass waste by 20,000 tonnes.

David Workman, director general of British Glass, said: "The UK glass industry is fully committed to this latest initiative.

"Lighter bottles ultimately mean less waste as well as making important savings in terms of raw materials and energy use."

Wrap suggests bulk importation - where wine is imported in bulk containers and bottled in the import country - is a cost-effective method for the UK.

The Wrap initiative also highlights the fact that wine is mostly bottled in green glass in the country of origin and this has resulted in a huge excess of green bottles in the UK glass recycling market.

If more wine is imported in bulk and bottled in green glass produced in this country, a stronger market for the UK's surplus green glass will be created.?

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