ST. MARYS — The Pennsylvania Resources Council has honored Straub Brewery of St. Marys with the 2016 “Leadership in Reusable Packaging” Award for its popular 16-ounce returnable beer bottle, known to Straub fans as the Straub “Pounder.”
The council presented Straub President and Chief Executive Officer William Brock with the award at the organization’s annual Environmental Leadership Awards celebration held at the Villanova Hotel and Conference Center. The other honorees included The Hershey Company, Granger Energy Services, and Radnor Township.
“PRC’s mission is to lead and promote individual and collective actions to preserve Pennsylvania’s environmental resources for each generation. Our 2016 awardees have advanced PRC’s mission through their leadership, innovation, and creative programs,” said Pennsylvania Resources Council Executive Director Bob Jondreau.
Straub Brewery is the last remaining brewery in the United States to still produce its beer in 16-ounce returnable bottles, known as “Pounders.” The brewery uses a traditional bottle washing machine to clean the returned glass bottles and prepare them for refilling. Also, heavy-duty, reusable cardboard cases and dividers enable the brewery to minimize the amount of new packaging material.
Straub Returnables are known to be an environmentally sustainable product, produced by an American Legacy Brewery in the PA Wilds region of the state. And through a new partnership with Owens-Illinois — the world’s leading glass-packaging maker — which will launch in 2017, the Straub returnable bottle will endure for generations to come.
“This honor was a humbling surprise for us,” said Brock. “We are grateful for this accolade — which recognizes Straub’s 145 years of commitment to artisanal brewing traditions and stewardship, and the vital role these attributes still play despite today’s trendy and crowded craft beer markets. But we also see it in a much broader light as well: as motivation for not only our own pathway into the future, but as a blueprint for other breweries and industries to embrace in their own ways.”
The Pennsylvania Resources Council is Pennsylvania’s oldest grassroots environmental organization. Since 1939, the organization has worked to protect the Commonwealth’s resources for future generations through environmental education, recycling, and waste diversion programs, anti-litter campaigns, and much more.
In addition to the council’s “Leadership in Reusable Packaging” award, Straub has also recently received gold (Straub American Lager) and bronze (Straub American Light Lager) medals from the 2016 U.S. Open Beer Championship; a bronze medal (Straub Kölsch Ale) from the 2016 World Beer Cup; a silver (Straub Dunkel) and three bronze (Straub American Amber Lager, Straub Doppelbock, and Straub 1872 Lager) medals from the 2016 Raise A Glass International Beer Competition; and a 2015 NBWA Brewer Partner of the Year Award from the National Beer Wholesalers Association.
