British readers of a certain age will remember the early morning sound of the electric-powered milk float arriving on their street, followed by the gentle clanking of glass bottles being collected and delivered. Somehow we moved away from this environmentally friendly method of obtaining our milk fix in favour of individually driving petrol cars to source plastic-cartoned versions of the white stuff from supermarkets. However, the milk round is now making a comeback.
Milk producers in the UK have noticed that their product is increasingly being bought via the traditional delivery method, in glass, which they are attributing to heightened public awareness of the climate crisis and growing distaste for plastic, as well as the convenience of the doorstep service.
Alongside this return to more sustainable ways, the public are also catching on to green innovations – such as a pub in Yorkshire (The King William Inn at Scaftworth, Doncaster) that has installed a milk vending machine, which dispenses both reusable, clean glass bottles and, of course, fresh milk. Also in Yorkshire, an outfit called The Home Farmer is seeing local farmers sell their milk from a horse box that has been converted into a mobile vending machine.
Glass over plastic, reuse over disposal – and directly supporting local suppliers – are how nearly all of us used to buy our milk, and how increasing numbers of us are doing so once again.
further reading…
British readers of a certain age will remember the early morning sound of the electric-powered milk float arriving on their street, followed by the gentle clanking of glass bottles being collected and delivered. Somehow we moved away from this environmentally friendly method of obtaining our milk fix in favour of individually driving petrol cars to source plastic-cartoned versions of the white stuff from supermarkets. However, the milk round is now making a comeback.
Milk producers in the UK have noticed that their product is increasingly being bought via the traditional delivery method, in glass, which they are attributing to heightened public awareness of the climate crisis and growing distaste for plastic, as well as the convenience of the doorstep service.
Alongside this return to more sustainable ways, the public are also catching on to green innovations – such as a pub in Yorkshire (The King William Inn at Scaftworth, Doncaster) that has installed a milk vending machine, which dispenses both reusable, clean glass bottles and, of course, fresh milk. Also in Yorkshire, an outfit called The Home Farmer is seeing local farmers sell their milk from a horse box that has been converted into a mobile vending machine.
Glass over plastic, reuse over disposal – and directly supporting local suppliers – are how nearly all of us used to buy our milk, and how increasing numbers of us are doing so once again.