Smiling Milk Man from the 30s. Photo: Camerique
With the current situation around recycling in the US, it's worth reconsidering how we package many of the products we buy and sell. According to as 2017 report by the US EPA, Americans recycle at a rate of only 35%. Most of the single use products we buy are made of durable plastic that will take centuries to degrade in a landfill along with other implications including toxicity and persistence in the environment.
Americans recycle at a rate of only 35%
With milk, for example, the old way would be to place a deposit for a glass bottle, and return/exchange for another bottle the next time you needed a refill. Reusing is one step above recycling because of the energy required to do so. There is also an economic incentive for customers to return their bottles instead of discarding them, keeping waste out of the landfills and recycling centers. Worst case if the glass breaks, or is not returned, it can degrade back into sand from which it was made from.
Although glass bottles can still be found, the majority of them have been phased out. Some of the downsides of glass is it’s more easily breakable and distribution costs can be higher due to the added weight. There are also concerns around light impacting nutrients, vitamins, and proteins in milk. Today, most milk comes in either a High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) plastic jug, or a paperboard coated in plastic. The latter being mostly light proof, and more difficult to recycle. According to a 2019 report by Dr. Catherine S Birch and professor Grahm Bonwick at the New Castle University in the UK, Fluorescent and LED lights can ruin the flavor of milk, and any light source can cause a loss of Vitamins B2, A, D2, D3, B12, B6, C and protein. Glass, PET, and HDPE packaging are all susceptible to this kind of degradation. For that matter, refillable glass can certainly be a better sustainable solution over its plastic counterparts, with paperboard holding the advantage over light protection.
Typical scene in today's grocery stores. Photo: Pasha Whitmire
Glass manufactures have improved weight and strength compared to the past, and the opportunity to use colored glass to protect against light is already here. Many beer & wine manufactures have already adopted this technique. Milk might look a little funny in a brown tinted glass, but maybe people would pick up on it over time. There are other options as well like black glass, which can offer a more sleek and premium appearance like what is used in the champagne industry. The infrastructure exists, it’s just a matter of connecting the dots. Some milk companies have started to bring the glass bottles back from the dead, often offering other benifits including more local sources and fairly treated cows.
Black glass jar packaging used for looseleaf tea. Lightproof. Photo: Pasha Whitmire
We should absolutely bring back glass bottles.
Next time you’re picking up a bottle of milk or other product packaged in plastic or paperboard, consider what opportunities there could be out there for refillable and reusable packaging that is durable, elegant, and environmentally benign.