Spanish wine producer Bodega Matarromera (Valladolid, Castile y Leon) has developed a sustainable and fully recyclable bioplastic bottle, predominantly in PLA, for its wines. It is claimed to be the first bottle made of the material that copies the design of traditional glass bottles for wine and, at 50g, has the advantage of being much lighter.

The company said the development is part of its commitment to environmental sustainability and will allow differentiation and increased competitiveness in markets with high environmental awareness such as the Nordic countries, specifically Norwegian and Scandinavian airlines.

The project to develop the bottle was financed by the EEA Grants programme (www.eeagrants.org), funded by Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, as well as by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (Madrid) through Spain’s Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI, Madrid; www.cdti.es). The bottle was developed at Spain's plastics technology centre Aimplas (Valencia; www.aimplas.net).