Morrisons bringing back glass milk bottles in Kent and Sheffield

pat0503

90p a pint seems rather steep. We get milk in glass bottles delivered by our milkman (local farmer) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Free range eggs in cardboard boxes once a week, too! Milk is only 60p per pint and is on the step by 5.00a.m. whatever the weather, so there's no risk of it souring in the sun. Bottles get rinsed and put out for collection. The milkman used to collect cash fortnightly but moved to bank transfers at the start of the pandemic, which suits me fine. For the minority of customers who don't do online banking, they offer alternative methods of payment by cash or cheque.

Patti27

We get our milk delivered by the milkman in glass bottles.  Yes it's more expensive but the milk is fresher & we also get the option of adding juice (in glass bottles), eggs, cream etc too.

chrismbt

Although it doesn't use plastic, it does use extra energy, probably made from Fossil Fuels, to transport the heavier glass bottles, they are also bulkier, so may generate twice the lorries, twice the fuel, twice the pollution to transport them. Even if you are returning them for refilling, they have to be washed and sterilized, more fuel to heat the water.

If you have a milkman then they are probably collecting the empties as they deliver the milk, so less of an overhead, but supermarkets won't have bottling machinery in-store, so more lorries to take them back.

Sounds like a gimmick to me.

All_Ears

I can honestly say that ever since I was a child (and that is decades ago!) I have always had milk from a glass bottle. Some people say that one cannot tell the difference between milk from a glass bottle and that from a plastic bottle. Well, I most certainly can. It tastes far better with no hint of a plasticky taste and what is more it is delivered to my doorstep every day, supplied by my local (0.5mls) milkman who gets it from the dairy which is just 3 miles away and sourced from local farms, so really local. Oh and the delivery vehicle is an old electric milk float still going strong despite its age. Is it worth the extra cost? I'd say so, particularly as it's also saving the environment. 

WalthamBoy

Decades ago ALL milk was supplied in glass bottles. Then the powers that be decided to supply milk in plastic containers, it was more economical served the planet better as it used up fewer resources to make the glass.

Looks like we're going in a full circle, again.

Robin9

Will Morrison's home delivery collect the empties ?

Rosa_Damascena

Robin9 said:

Will Morrison's home delivery collect the empties ?

I can't believe they wouldn't be looking to recycle their own stock.

watki07

I buy 5 x 4 pint containers each week, weekly. They go in one carrier bag (just!). 20 pints! Try putting 20 heavy fragile glass bottle in one carrier bag, or will the shop give you a crate (more plastic - has to be plastic because a cardboard one will disintegrate with heavy wet glass bottles in it. Plastic crates are useful for all sorts of things, so how many will not be returned?). Then you have to put 20 bottles in the fridge! Completely impractical. The farmers and supermarkets between them destroyed the daily milk delivery business and now they're scratching around looking for a way to backtrack because of the environmental consequences. And guess who pays?

Grumpysally

All_Ears said:

I can honestly say that ever since I was a child (and that is decades ago!) I have always had milk from a glass bottle. Some people say that one cannot tell the difference between milk from a glass bottle and that from a plastic bottle. Well, I most certainly can. It tastes far better with no hint of a plasticky taste and what is more it is delivered to my doorstep every day, supplied by my local (0.5mls) milkman who gets it from the dairy which is just 3 miles away and sourced from local farms, so really local. Oh and the delivery vehicle is an old electric milk float still going strong despite its age. Is it worth the extra cost? I'd say so, particularly as it's also saving the environment. 

I fully agree with you. We get doorstep milk. Absolutely wonderful, top of the bottle cream on my cereal in the morning. My daily treat. 

ChristoffM

Been having milk from the milkman now for a few years.
Tastes better, better for the environment and helps a local business. (70p/pint)
Our milkman, "Milky Steve"  delivers at night between 10-12......
Top bloke!