Vegware Wine Glasses
Vegware has been busy building a reputation tackling the eye-watering amounts of food packaging that is thrown away and destined for landfill every year. We generally know them for their compostable coffee cups and takeaway boxes, but not for their 'glassware'.
Who we are
Single Use Alternatives was founded by Adrian and Neil; two brothers who are passionate about enjoying the outdoors and caring for the environment. Concerned about the impact single use plastics are having upon the environment, we decided to offer a range of cost effective high quality, alternative products.
To find out more about our products simply browse through our website. If you have any questions we’d love to hear from you: please complete the enquiry form on our contact page.
Vegware Wine Glasses
Progress has been (slowly) made in improving recycling in the UK, and there's still further to go, but Vegware glasses may well fill a gap in the disposable plastic drinking glass market for event operators and hospitality businesses who want to do their bit to help the environment.
Businesses are beginning to get on board with composting as a way of achieving full recycling. Vegware's product design philosophy fits in well with that. You can mix as many different materials as you like as long as they've all got the same recycling stream, and often Vegware food packaging has a mix of compostable materials.
There's certainly lots of opportunity still for business owners to make a step in the right direction, and to start using Vegware glasses to serve their beers and wines when they otherwise would be using disposable plastic; which would go straight into landfill.
Vegware wine glasses look like their non-recyclable counterparts
Although Vegware's stylish eco wine glasses look similar to normal plastic cups that you'd be used to being served a glass of wine in at outdoor events, they are 100% compostable.
Composting is an important way we can close the loop with otherwise throwaway items. Vegware's compostable wine glasses can be either commercially composted by your local council, or through Vegwares post back schemes . Commercial composting can take up to 90 days. Take a look at our composting page for some tips on how to go about it.
What are Vegware wine glasses made out of?
Vegware's wine glasses are made out of PLA; a compostable bioplastic derived from plant sugars. PLA stands for polylactic acid, and it can be made from any sugar such as corn starch, sugar cane or sugar beet. Primarily, the source for most PLA is industrial corn, but the search is on for other fibrous non-food crops to use as well. The corn is milled to extract the starch in the form of glucose, which is then fermented to produce lactic acid. This lactic acid is then turned into a polymer, which can be made into resin pellets. The PLA pellets can then be formed into sheet or film, injection moulded, cast into sheets or spun into fibres, much like conventional plastic resin.
It's important to note that the corn that PLA is made out of is non-food grade, so it's not competing with food for human consumption. The whole of the corn plant is harvested, and every part of it is used.
And are Vegware wine glasses 'good' for the environment?
Quite apart from their compostable properties and how they help to close the loop, the manufacture of PLA produces approximately 80% less greenhouse gases, and uses approximately 52% less non-renewable energy than polystyrene. In total, it amounts to a 75% reduction in carbon footprint versus most traditional plastics.
If you want to know more about our range of compostable vegware wine glasses, pint cups and other cold cups and lids please email us at contact@singleusealternatives.co.uk