Bringing back the Milk Man
We’ve recently started buying our milk via the milk man. Why oh why did we wait so long to make this change? I’m actually angry with myself. We had talked about it for literally 2-3 years but in that classic way ‘never got round to it!’ It won’t come as a surprise to say that the milk tastes better and there is something so nostalgic about drinking milk from a traditional glass bottle.
The plastic packaging pandemic has dominated milk distribution over recent decades. In 1975, 94% of UK milk was put into glass bottles; by 2012, this was down to 4%. Plastic milk bottles, made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) can be recycled into containers, bins, garden furniture etc, but it’s not as favoured as the recyclable plastic of choice – polyethylene terephthalate or PET 1 (think standard water bottle) – that is most widely sifted by recycling plants and recycled for its premium qualities. Glass bottles, in comparison, on average are re-used 15 times before being 100% recycled over and over. Even when you take into consideration the increased energy required to make glass compared to plastic bottles, and the heavier weight of the glass bottle’s impact on distribution and delivery, the lifetime carbon footprint of the glass bottle is significantly lower than the plastic alternatives.
Of late, there has been a glass milk bottle resurgence and the demand continues to grow as people switch over to plastic reducing ways of life – it feels great to be part of this.
We use www.milkandmore.co.uk who incidentally doesn’t just deliver milk. Reduce the carbon footprint of your delivery and order other household goods such as fresh breakfast ingredients or eco-cleaning products and non-foods. I’ve added some emergency bamboo toilet rolls to my order this week!
If you are interested in switching to glass bottled milk delivery, check out http://findmeamilkman.net/ to find your local dairies and delivery options!