Supermarket giant Tesco is launching its lightest wine bottle to date in the UK, as part of a partnership with a recycling agency funded by the country’s Government.

The new bottle, to be used on Tesco’s own-label wines, weighs 300g and is 30% lighter than its predecessor, the supermarket chain said earlier this week.

Tesco worked in partnership with Kingsland Wine and Spirits and Quinn Glass, within the Glassrite project run by the UK’s Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

“Tesco has one of the largest wine ranges of any retailer and a traditional 12-bottle case weighs about 6kg in glass alone, presenting a real opportunity for us to make a difference,” said Andrew Gale, technical manager for Tesco beers, wines and spirits.

“We have committed to bottling all entry level New World wines in the new 300g option,” he said, adding that the move will cut Tesco’s glass usage by 560 tonnes annually.

Tesco Australian Red NV will be the first wine to use the new bottle.

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As well as reducing bottle weight, WRAP has engaged with retailers and producers to import wine in bulk and bottle it in the UK. This, it says, will cut carbon emissions linked to transport and foster a closed loop recycling system for bottles in the UK.

Tesco said that it began bulk shipping in 2003 and now imports 10m litres of wine annually in bulk. A majority of its New World range is imported in bulk, it said.

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