Morrisons is reviving returnable milk bottles in supermarkets in a trial that could be rolled out across the UK.
The supermarket offers customers in Sheffield and parts of Kent the option to buy milk in glass bottles instead of plastic containers. The bottles can be returned, washed, sanitised, and then re-used, just like the olden days!
Morrisons calculate that the 11-store trial will mean the supermarket uses 40,000 fewer plastic bottles. The milk is sourced from nearby farms, Morrisons says, which cuts farm to store travel distances and will save on CO2.
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Packaging manager for Morrisons, Natasha Cook, said: “We want to help our customers live their lives with less plastic.
“Reusing glass milk bottles is an easy leap for many people to make because they remember that this was how milk used to arrive on the doorstep.
"We’re currently talking to other local dairies and hope to be able to roll out glass milk bottles across the country.”
There is one catch though: A pint of milk sold in a glass bottle is priced at 90p, which is 40p more than the same amount Morrisons sells in a plastic carton.
The move has been welcomed by environmental campaigners.
Steve Hynd, policy manager from environmental campaign group City to Sea, said: “Milk is a prime example of a product that could and should be swapped from single-use plastic bottles to planet-friendly reusable bottles.
“It is great to see Morrisons pioneering the process of delivering milk in reusable bottles in supermarket stores.”
