Plastic milk jug gets makeover, cheers, and jeers
As a consumer, when you reach a certain comfort-level with a product, you feel like it's somehow enmeshed into your way of life. Whether it's a new package design or a new formula, when a change is made, it's hard not to eye it with suspicion. Over the last few months, mega-retailers Costco and Wal-Mart have been rolling out a new eco-friendly variation on the gallon jug -- redesigned to keep milk fresher, reduce carbon emissions, and lower shipping costs. There's just one problem: when it comes to pouring the milk, these containers apparently suck. While the jugs are definitely greener, they lack the mechanical advantage of a spout. So, users are unfortunately finding it hard to complete the simple task of pouring a glass of milk -- a major problem. Environmentally speaking, the switch is definitely a step in the right direction. Since, despite the controversy, other milk distributors are expected to follow suit with eco-friendly -- and hopefully more user-friendly -- plastic jugs.
[via Treehugger]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-30-2008 @ 6:51PM
mavkato said...
how does the shape keep the milk fresher?
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6-30-2008 @ 11:03PM
Josh Loposer said...
As best I can tell, the freshness has to do with streamlining the shipping process. According to the Tribune, milk goes from the cows to the Sam's Club in one day.
6-30-2008 @ 10:47PM
John said...
This container sucks. They spill milk everywhere.
What good is a green product if it loses it's function?
Reply
7-01-2008 @ 8:05AM
Potsy said...
don't cry over spilled milk.
just pour more slowly...i have been using these for over a year now and have never had an issue.
Reply
7-01-2008 @ 3:21PM
Frank said...
I have not tried nor seen these new bottles. However, the first problem that I see is that the bottles are colored with white pigment rather than like most currently used unpigmented, opaque bottles. The pigment just adds to the recycling problems and probably costs more anyway. One big advantage of the older design is that they are essentially made from the same type plastic and are identifiable as milk (or water bottles) and can be sorted for recycling into similiar applications.
White bottles are mainly a marketing gimmic. Someone found that the lighting in grocery shelves degraded the vitamin C in milk packed in the opaque bottles over time. This can be stopped by using a different light source in the grocers cooler. I think most grocers and dairies think that milk has such a short shelf life and people don't buy milk for it's vitamin C anyway that the unpigmented bottles are best overall.
There may be an advantage in the square design to be able to haul more milk per truck load but they still shouldn't put white pigment in them.
By the way, I was involved with early production of plastic milk bottles and later marketing of the plastic resins used to produce the bottles, as well as the plastic coatings for the paper milk cartons.
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