Glass is an ideal packaging material to support a low-waste circular economy. The Julia Vitrum Cullet Treatment plant in Italy is one of our creative, innovative and collaborative solutions to ensuring more glass stays in the manufacturing loop and out of landfills.

The project is a joint partnership between O-I and Italian glass manufacturer Zignago Vetro. The new plant is located in the Zona Industriale Ponte Rosso (ZIPR) in Italy’s Pordenone province. It is the only cullet treatment center in the region and is close to our Villotta and San Polo plants.

Recycled glass, called cullet, is a main ingredient in the glass manufacturing process. The more recycled glass that goes into a batch to create new glass packaging requires less energy use, uses fewer raw materials, and creates less emissions. That’s why recycled glass is so valuable to the industry.

Julia Vitrum is one of the first plants in Europe with innovative technology that produces improved cullet. Traditional glass cullet purification machines can effectively clean impurities above a certain size. The latest generation of purification machines at Julia Vitrum catch and clear even smaller impurities – up to half a particle smaller. This means the plant creates a higher volume of usable cullet than traditional machines to manufacture new glass containers.

Increasing recycled content by 50%, on average, by 2030 is among our 10 sustainability goals. O-I’s investment in the Julia Vitrum plant demonstrates our commitment to our sustainability journey and, at the same time, increases the availability of high-quality cullet for the plants in the ZIPR region.

O-I Glass, Inc.

O-I Glass, Inc.

At O-I Glass, Inc. (NYSE: OI), we love glass and we’re proud to be one of the leading producers of glass bottles and jars around the globe. Glass is not only beautiful, it’s also pure and completely recyclable, making it the most sustainable rigid packaging material. Headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio (USA), O-I is the preferred partner for many of the world’s leading food and beverage brands. We innovate in line with customers’ needs to create iconic packaging that builds brands around the world. Led by our diverse team of more than 25,000 people across 72 plants in 20 countries, O-I achieved revenues of $6.1 billion in 2020. 

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