A practical guide to PCR glass in beauty packaging. It covers finer points about what post-consumer recycled glass is and isn't, the energy and raw material savings it brings, where it can fall short on clarity, and how the Bastia bottle combines over 50% PCR content with a premium finish.
Brands are asked about recycled content in glass far more often than they were a few years ago. The bottle still has to look as good on the shelf as it ever did, and the specification has to stand up to scrutiny.
This article covers what a PCR figure does and doesn’t tell you, what recycled content does for glass, where it can fall short for beauty, and how a bottle can deliver high recycled content without losing clarity.
PCR stands for post-consumer recycled. It describes glass that was used as packaging, collected, sorted and cleaned, then crushed into cullet and melted into a new bottle.
It is one part of a bottle's recycled content, and the part that comes back from the consumer stream. The rest can be pre-consumer cullet, which is offcuts and rejects from a glassmaker's own production, melted again. Both count as recycled content, so a specification that gives one combined figure can describe quite different things.
Recycled content is also a different matter from recyclability. Glass can be recycled at end of life whatever it is made from, and recycled content describes what the bottle is made from in the first place.
British Glass describes glass as endlessly recyclable without any loss of quality. They also note that around half of household glass packaging in the UK is not re-melted back into glass. Specifying PCR content gives some of that glass somewhere to go.
Cullet melts at a lower temperature than the sand, soda ash and limestone it replaces. The furnace therefore needs less energy.
The European glass container federation, FEVE, puts the effect at about 3% less furnace energy and 5% less CO2 for every extra 10% of cullet. Other glassmakers quote 2.5% for energy.
Our glassmaker estimates a saving of around 10% in energy for the Bastia bottle, compared with making the same bottle from virgin materials.
Raw materials matter too. Each tonne of cullet replaces about 1.2 tonnes of virgin material, which means less quarrying. It also means fewer carbonate raw materials releasing CO2 as they break down in the furnace.
The Bastia bottle is an example of innovation in post-consumer recycled glass. Containing over 50% recycled content, it still holds the same clarity to the eye as virgin cosmetic glass.
Explore BastiaClarity is much of the point of premium cosmetic glass. Clear glass shows the colour of a formula, gives decoration a clean ground and reads as pure. High recycled content can put that at risk in a few familiar ways.
For these reasons, high recycled content has often meant accepting a visible compromise. A brand got the recycled figure for its specification and lost some of the clarity that made glass worth choosing.
Bastia is our answer to that compromise. The range contains over 50% post-consumer recycled glass and still looks completely clear.
Weight and feel are part of how people judge premium glass. Bastia's recycled content does not come at the expense of its substance, and the bottle feels as solid in the hand as it looks.
A clear bottle also provides a good base for decoration, because there is no tint to work around.
Recycled content is one of two routes we take with glass. The other is using less of it. The 200ml Richmond Jar carries 30% PCR and uses 19% less glass than before, with the same presence on the shelf. The Marbella Jar uses a hidden push-up base to reduce glass weight in a similar way.
At the end of its life, a Bastia bottle can go back into the glass stream. The material is ready to be recycled again.
A recycled content figure is only as useful as the detail behind it. Before you specify, ask your supplier:
We are glad to talk through the answers for Bastia, and for any product in the range.
PCR means post-consumer recycled. It describes glass that was used as packaging by consumers, then collected, cleaned and melted into new glass.
It depends on how the glass is made. Recycled glass can leave a tint, flecks or bubbles. Bastia contains over 50% PCR glass and keeps the clarity of virgin glass.
Industry figures suggest about 2.5 to 3% less furnace energy for every extra 10% of cullet. Our glassmaker estimates a saving of around 10% for the PCR content in Bastia.
Yes. Glass can be melted and remade repeatedly without losing quality.
If recycled content is on your specification, let's talk about a custom design, or the Signature Collections below. Request samples or get in touch and we'll help you find the right fit.
These ranges allow you to explore the possibilities of items containing recycled glass.