Get on the milk round
If you buy milk from the supermarket it's very likely that it will be in a Tetra Pak style carton or a plastic milk bottle made from high density polyethylene (HDPE). The Tetra-Pak cartons, because they are made of different materials fused together, are very hard to recycle and many kerb side collections do not allow for carton recycling.
The HDPE bottles require lots of energy to be recycled. Many people buy large quantities of these cartons and store them away in the freezer for use later - which uses up even more energy.An alternative has been around for decades though and if you're lucky it may still be available in your area. It is of course the milk man and his returnable, reusable glass milk bottles. Not only that, the milk float is usually an emission free electric vehicle. Find out if a milk round is available in your area by visiting Express Dairies or Dairy Crest. The milkman will deliver much more than just milk and fresh orange juice these days so it's well worth looking into. And with a fresh pint at your doorstep every morning there's no need to worry about whether you'll have enough until the next time you go shopping.
If you really want to know more about milk floats, why not visit this endearing little site dedicated to "our friends electric"?!
7 Comments:
i'm in a dilemma about whether to keep up with the milk delivery (glass bottles), or switch to organic milk (in plastic bottles NOT tetrapaks).
Hi Amelia,
Can your milkman deliver organic?
caldini
I have the same problem and have cancelled the milk delivery because the organic milk our milkman delivers (Rachels Organic) is in a tetrapak (not recyclable in our area), whereas the milk I get at the local Co-op is in recyclable plastic bottles.
I always tell the canvassers that come round trying to pursuade me to go back onto delivered milk the reason why I've starting going to the shops for milk again, and I've written to Dairy Crest too, but they don't seem too interested in changing the packaging options of organic milk, even though I can buy Rachel's Organic milk in a plastic bottle at the shops. Doh!
Perhaps there should be another debate, about the environmental soundness of drinking cow's milk at all, given the effect of dairy farming on the countryside; how bad it is for the welfare of the cows themselves; and how wasteful of land resources is the production of milk and meat - cattle get fed 3-5 tiomes more protein in the form of beans and grain (in cattle feed) than they ultimately give back in the form of meat when they're slaughtered.
Any-one for soya milk?
Hi there!
I have good news for all of you! Tetra Pak cartons can be recycled. If your area does not yet collect cartons for recycling, you might want to get in touch with your local authority to tell them Tetra Pak have a Nationa Recycling Officer and a £300,000 national recycling fund to help them set up collection schemes. There are a number of local authorities already collecting cartons, so why not visit their website at www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk to find out more.
The website also lists a number of positive environmental attributes that you may not be aware of that put them in good stead as well. e.g.
1) cartons are the only liquid food packaging system made predominantly from a renewable recsource
2) Tetra Pak UK are carbon neutral!
etc etc....
One of my assignments for my English class is to blog about environmental issues. Do you mind giving me more information about the milk bottles, is there just one brand? Is this service only offered in England? Thank you so much!
Personally it is more convenient to go to the store, while shopping for other necessities, and pick up a few cartons of milk. Wouldn't it be cheaper to get it from the store anyway? The price of labor and tip must be included when having milk delivered. I do not believe there is a milkman in my area to begin with so switching to that form would be impossible to me. Overall, I am sure it would do some good.
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