(TDB) - The environmental impact of stopper production and disposal is rising in prominence – but how green is your closure?

Just when you thought that the closure debate was coming to an end, a new source of contention has arisen. And no, it’s not a new taint, or a fresh claim concerning oxygen transmission rates.

Rather, as this month’s edition of the drinks business highlights, today’s hot topic is the environment – that is, the effect on the planet of producing and disposing different types of stopper.

So why have the eco credentials of closure types come under the spotlight? One reason is the heightened awareness among consumers of green issues, particularly the carbon footprint of packaging and the problems caused by waste – exacerbated in the past year specifically by images of plastic pollution at sea in Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II TV series.