Our glass selection is sourced from artisans part of the Green Glass Recycling Initiative (GGRIL). In the July 2006 war, the only green glass manufacturing plant in Lebanon was completely destroyed and to date not rebuilt. The plant served the local beer and wine industries and used up all the green and amber glass from the Lebanese glass recycling stream. Since that date, about 71 Million green & amber bottles end up in Landfills or uncontrolled dumps every year.
The GGRIL addresses the lack of recycling of green & amber glass packaging by reviving the glass blowing artisanship which was invented in this land by the Phoenicians. GGRIL aims to divert as much as possible of green/amber bottles from ending up in landfills or forests where they are a major fire hazard.
GGRIL has diverted the equivalent of 1 million beer bottles from ending up in landfills. All proceeds from the sales of these glass items go back into the stream to provide more work for the glass blowing artisans and hence divert more colored glass from the waste stream and provide higher recycling & recuperation rates. Components of the packaging (Glass, Box and Label) are made from Lebanese recycled glass and paper.
GGRIL was made possible by the joint efforts of Cedar Environmental, and the Khalifeh Brothers of Sarafand – Glassblowers Extraordinaire.