South Australian wine producer Nepenthe Wines has rolled out a packaging overhaul aimed at addressing a long-standing recycling issue in the industry. The initiative—timed with World Environment Day 2025—focuses on fully removable aluminum capsules, developed in collaboration with packaging manufacturer Interpack. The move seeks to resolve the bottleneck in recycling processes caused by traditional wine sleeves, which are rarely separated from bottles at sorting facilities.
Despite both glass and aluminum being highly recyclable, when left attached, the combined materials often lead to whole bottles being rejected from recycling streams. Aluminum’s sustainability potential is well documented—over 75% of aluminum ever produced is still in use—but only if properly sorted. The newly introduced tearaway capsule system allows consumers to separate packaging components easily, improving the likelihood of both materials reaching the appropriate recycling pathways.
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