Milk In Glass Bottles

Anthorn

Not exactly ethical money saving since a pint of semi-skimmed milk in a glass bottle costs 81p delivered (Milk & More) compared with 4 pints in plastic for £1.10p (Iceland). But that's often the way with ethical products: For example you won't get a litre of Ecover washing up liquid for the 59p you pay for your washing up liquid at Aldi. But in the current anti-plastic atmosphere it makes sense to go glass.

In January 2018 The Telegraph reported an increase in doorstep deliveries to 1 million glass bottles of milk from the previous 800,000 two years ago and proclaims the return of the milk float and glass bottles.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/01/21/milk-floats-glass-bottles-make-comeback-shoppers-shun-plastic/

Personally I changed to glass bottles due to the reports of plastic in bottled water. The news stories that followed focussed on the plastic perhaps coming from the plastic water bottles the water is packaged in. So I reasoned that if that's happening with bottled water it could also be happening with milk in plastic containers. Also what other nasties are my getting from the milk in my morning coffee? So bye-bye milk in plastic.

Ethically doorstep delivery of milk in glass bottles ticks the box of "re-use not recycle" because the washed empties are returned to be re-used.

Lastly, there is a feel-good factor in changing to milk in glass bottles and also the milk tastes better.

sevenhills

Anthorn wrote: »

Personally I changed to glass bottles due to the reports of plastic in bottled water.

If you can afford to change to glass instead of plastic, all very good.


I am sure there will be plastic particles in the sea and rivers, so we cannot get away from it. I assume that the fish and humans cannot digest plastic, so there will be plastic in the fish, and everything.


Does this plastic cause harm?

sevenhills

I just picked up a glass milk bottle today, that someone had thrown away, on a field close to where I walk my dog. I dont want to leave it, and then my dog walks on broken glass.
No such problem with plastic; if there was a 10p return, plastic and glass would be returned.

Anthorn

sevenhills wrote: »

Does this plastic cause harm?

Perhaps when we consider harm we should redefine it and consider how we would feel if we had to fight through a mountain of plastic on our favourite beach in order to lay down our towel and sunbathe.

The major point about plastic in the oceans is that it is an avoidable human pollutant.

In March 2018 The Independent published an article about the weak evidence of harm to marine life caused by plastics. But even so they had to admit that plastic is "recognised as one of the most prevalent human-made pollutants in marine environments across the world."

Certainly we produce large amounts of plastics each year. They continually end up as waste in the environment, and the polymers they comprise decompose extremely slowly. Large particles fragment into smaller pieces known as microplastics !!!8211; technically 5mm in diameter or less. These are now recognised as one of the most prevalent human-made pollutants in marine environments across the world.

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/plastic-oceans-pollution-microplastics-evidence-harm-recycling-dumping-waste-a8275416.html

But read the rest of the article because it is critical of the lack of research into the effects of plastics and goes on to claim that micro plastics in the oceans could be beneficial to marine life.

sevenhills

Anthorn wrote: »

The major point about plastic in the oceans is that it is an avoidable human pollutant.

In March 2018 The Independent published an article about the weak evidence of harm to marine life caused by plastics. But even so they had to admit that plastic is "recognised as one of the most prevalent human-made pollutants in marine environments across the world."

But the reason we use plastic is because it is cheap and plentiful.
If we used a more scarce resource, we would be putting more pressure on the climate, and climate change.
Just like the issue with diesel engines, diesel engines may emmit more polutants, but they use less fossil fuel.

Anthorn

sevenhills wrote: »

But the reason we use plastic is because it is cheap and plentiful.
If we used a more scarce resource, we would be putting more pressure on the climate, and climate change.
Just like the issue with diesel engines, diesel engines may emmit more polutants, but they use less fossil fuel.

It's a question of degree and priority. Consider for example re-using instead of recycling plastics related to carbon footprint. At first sight it looks obvious that re-using reduces the impact on the environment not only from production but also from waste. But the plastic which is to be reused has to be collected, cleaned and distributed.

Similarly electric vehicles save on pollution which regular vehicles produce but there is an environmental impact from the production of electricity.

As I said it's a question of degree and priority, which is better and which is worse?

Ectophile

Would buying the milk in glass bottles be greener than buying the 4 pint plastic bottle from Iceland, donating £2.14 to an environmental charity, then chucking the plastic bottle in the recycling when I am done with it?

Anthorn

Ectophile wrote: »

Would buying the milk in glass bottles be greener than buying the 4 pint plastic bottle from Iceland, donating £2.14 to an environmental charity, then chucking the plastic bottle in the recycling when I am done with it?

Carbon footprint: Producing glass bottles has much more of an effect on the environment but glass bottles are re-used or rather should be re-used. The biggest question is what will happen when the government's deposit scheme kicks in. At this time I wash the bottles and the milkman collects them when he delivers. But as the deposit scheme now stands the bottles could end up being put in for recycling after a single use.

GreenQueen

We've had a doorstep delivery for 4-5 years now. Although it is expensive, the cost is offset against the incidental purchases when you pop to the shop "just for a pint of milk" midweek and come back with £10 of unnecessary groceries!

Anthorn

GreenQueen wrote: »

We've had a doorstep delivery for 4-5 years now. Although it is expensive, the cost is offset against the incidental purchases when you pop to the shop "just for a pint of milk" midweek and come back with £10 of unnecessary groceries!

I endorse the unnecessary groceries comment because I used to do it. I used to go to the supermarket just for milk and end up buying other things too that caught my eye.

Whether doorstep deliveries are more expensive is comparative, depends on what you are comparing it with: Looking at Milk & More which is the only doorstep delivery I know, 500ml of Delamere Sterilised milk in glass bottle is 84p whereas at my local Premier shop it's 99p. Similarly 250g of Yeo Valley organic butter is £1.89p whereas it's £2 at Waitrose and Ocado and not much more than Aldi brand butter at £1.45p.

Frudd

I will try and find a link but I think it was New Scientist posted some stats on re-usables vs disposables. Things like you need to use your jute bag hundreds of times before it is more environmentally friendly than a palstic one.


With the milk thing obviously there are various factors to consider, not least who you would rather give your money to!