The latest in the ongoing innovations for eco-friendly milk packaging bring us to the UK and a product called GreenBottle.
GreenBottle is a new type of packaging designed for liquids and is made from 91% recycled material, primarily from waste office paper and is 99% recyclable.
Major UK retailer ASDA (owned by Wal-Mart) announced it is offering the new packaging in one of its stores with plans to expand to fourteen more stores in the near future and possibly nationwide.
Martin Myerscough, GreenBottle's designer created the product to replace plastic bottles.
The packaging consists of a pulped recycled cardboard outer similar to what is used to make egg cartons and a corn-based bioplastic bag liner.
The inner liner takes up less than .5% of the space of a plastic bottle if disposed of in a landfill and will biodegrade in about six weeks.
After the milk is gone, the bioplastic bag can be removed and composted/disposed of, and the outer shell can be recycled or composted.
Myerscough told Lets Recycle, "The plastic part could be composted, but it is a very thin bag. The cardboard could go in a paper or green waste collection and then people who don't recycle can put it all into the general waste as it will biodegrade."
Chris Brown, Head of Ethical and Sustainable Sourcing at ASDA, said, “Milk is one of our highest selling products, and as such, we have a responsibility to develop alternative packaging making it easier for our customers to go green and to help them recycle at home."
Brown also addressed another positive of GreenBottle, no spillage. “Also, unlike products that are being trialled by other retailers such as the pouch, this milk bottle is robust, practical and fit for purpose, meaning there is no danger of spilled milk at breakfast time.”
Consumer reaction GreenBottle in initial milk packaging trials at ASDA last year was highly positive. It will be interesting to see how this latest product launch will go and it will surely have an impact on GreenBottle's future use and application.
Additional Packaging Uses for GreenBottle beyond Milk
We may see GreenBottles used for other types of packaging including; juices, smoothies, yogurt drinks, water, shampoos, hand creams, liquid detergents, engine oils and more.
Subscribe by email
Comments