A small bag of milk from China (Photo by David Woo)
Just when we thought bagged milk was a one-off story during a slow news day, British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s announced this week that it will begin carrying its milk in bags rather than bottles, in an effort to reduce packaging and costs.
This comes a few weeks after a locally made YouTube video explaining the seemingly odd concept of milk bags became an overnight hit, with coverage on this blog, as well as in The Star and the Post. Salon writer Thomas Rogers argues that bagged milk is the future of dairy and hopes the U.S. will adopt bags, since they use 75 per cent less packaging and are recyclable and cheaper for consumers. But it’s not just Canadians who purchase milk in bag form: India, Poland, Hungary, South Africa, Argentina and China (where even beer is sold in bags) do the same.
• Milk in a bag at Sainsbury’s [Telegraph]
• The future of dairy: milk in a bag [Salon]
• Milk in bags: that’s so Canadian [Toronto Life]
• Milk in Bags, eh? [YouTube]
What about the plastic is what I am wondering as glass is more recyclable and so are the cartons. It had better be environmentally friendly or I am sure certain groups will argue this point. Myself I prefer the cartons or bottles as they are eco friendly and reuse the glass. Though I am unsure I would buy that brand though.
October 28, 2010 at 9:47 am | by stella