A milk bag is a flexible plastic pouch used to package milk and is used in some areas instead of a hardened milk jug, or as an alternative to it. Usually one of the corners is cut off to allow for pouring, and the bag is stored in a pitcher.
A typical milk bag contains approximately 1 L (1.8 imp pt) of milk in South America, Iran, Israel, and continental European countries, while in Canada they contain 1+1⁄3 L (2.3 imp pt), and in India, 0.5 L (0.9 imp pt). [1]
In the Baltic rim countries and some Eastern European countries, similar bags may also be seen used for packaging yogurt or kefir.
For producers, it is easier to vary portion size when sealing bags than cartons, as well as lowering the cost of packaging. Milk bags also take up less space in the garbage. For consumers, bags typically allow for smaller portion sizes. This theoretically reduces the risk of spoilage, as well as the space and location of storage in the fridge. [2]
While milk bags use less plastic than standard plastic bottles or jugs, empty bags are often not accepted for recycling when mixed with other plastics. [3] In Canada, where recycling services are municipally or regionally managed, milk bags may not always be recycled. In some municipalities milk bags are required to be discarded as garbage [4] and in others they are recyclable. [5]
This is not an exhaustive list of all the countries where bagged milk is commonly sold.
In Canada, milk was packaged in heavy, reusable Imperial unit glass milk bottles, cardboard cartons and plastic jugs until 1967, when DuPont, using European equipment, introduced plastic bags to store and sell milk; these bags gained widespread acceptance due to 1970s Metrication in Canada, when bottles, jugs, and cartons had to be redesigned and manufactured in metric units; milk bag packaging machines could easily be resized. [6] [7] [8]
The consumer public preferred plastic jugs for years, but largely accepted the new containers in parts of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes in the 1970s. [9] Regulation in Ontario that required retailers to collect a deposit on milk jugs, but not bags, also motivated the practice. [10]
Milk bags are sold in parts of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes, but no longer widely sold in western Canada, in Newfoundland and Labrador, or the territories. [9]
In Israel, milk in a bag is the most common type of packaging for milk. They became the standard form of milk packaging in the 1960s, with the discontinuation of glass bottles. In Israel, the milk bag is a regulated product, which means that its price is controlled by the state. Therefore, there are price differences between the milk bags and the other alternatives available for marketing milk — plastic bottles or milk cartons. Due to the price differences, a relationship was observed between the socioeconomic status of the consumer and the type of milk container that they customarily purchased. The higher the socio-economic status of the purchaser, the more likely they are to buy milk in cartons rather than in bags, despite the higher price of cartons. Based on these differences, Blue Square Network created a way to measure the socioeconomic status of an area based on the sales ratio of milk cartons versus bagged milk. The higher the ratio of the former to the latter, the higher the status of the region in Israel. [11] For religious Jews, opening a bag of milk can be considered problematic on Shabbat, because the action requires cutting. Eli Yishai, Israel's former minister of internal affairs, used empty milk bags in the Knesset as props to complain about price-hikes in the cost of milk. [12]
Milk bags are also commonly used in Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. [13]
In the United Kingdom, Sainsbury's began a pilot experiment on distributing milk in bags in 2008 in conjunction with Dairy Crest. [14] It was originally targeted at 35 stores at the same price as a regular 2-imperial-pint (1.1 L) plastic bottle of milk. [15] The product was expanded nationwide in 2010, at which point the bags retailed at a discounted price compared to traditional containers, [16] [17] but stopped in early 2015. [18]
DuPont introduced milk bags to American schools in 1989; by 1993 three million pouches a day were being served in 24 states. [19] However, the popularity of them waned. There appears to only be one verified school district, in Omaha, NE, using bagged milk as recently as 2015. [20]
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest solid food. Milk contains many nutrients, including calcium and protein, as well as lactose and saturated fat. Immune factors and immune-modulating components in milk contribute to milk immunity. Early-lactation milk, which is called colostrum, contains antibodies and immune-modulating components that strengthen the immune system against many diseases. The US CDC agency recommends that children over the age of 12 months should have two servings of dairy (milk) products a day, and more than six billion people worldwide consume milk and milk products.
A reusable bottle is a bottle that can be reused, as in the case as by the original bottler or by end-use consumers. Reusable bottles have grown in popularity by consumers for both environmental and health safety reasons. Reusable bottles are one example of reusable packaging.
A carton is a box or container usually made of liquid packaging board, paperboard and sometimes of corrugated fiberboard. Many types of cartons are used in packaging. Sometimes a carton is also called a box.
Container-deposit legislation is any law that requires the collection of a monetary deposit on beverage containers at the point of sale and/or the payment of refund value to the consumers. When the container is returned to an authorized redemption center, or retailer in some jurisdictions, the deposit is partly or fully refunded to the redeemer. It is a deposit-refund system.
Plastic shopping bags, carrier bags, or plastic grocery bags are a type of plastic bag used as shopping bags and made from various kinds of plastic. In use by consumers worldwide since the 1960s, these bags are sometimes called single-use bags, referring to carrying items from a store to a home. However, it is rare for bags to be worn out after single use and in the past some retailers incentivised customers to reuse 'single use' bags by offering loyalty points to those doing so. Even after they are no longer used for shopping, reuse of these bags for storage or trash is common, and modern plastic shopping bags are increasingly recyclable or compostable - at the Co-op for example. In recent decades, numerous countries have introduced legislation restricting the provision of plastic bags, in a bid to reduce littering and plastic pollution.
A plastic bag, poly bag, or pouch is a type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, powders, ice, magazines, chemicals, and waste. It is a common form of packaging.
A bin bag, rubbish bag, garbage bag, bin liner, trash bag or refuse sack is a disposable receptable for solid waste. These bags are useful to line the insides of waste containers to prevent the insides of the container from becoming coated in waste material. Most bags today are made out of plastic, and are typically black, white, or green in color.
Glass milk bottles are glass bottles used for milk. They are reusable and returnable – used mainly for doorstep delivery of fresh milk by milkmen. Once customers have finished the milk, empty bottles are expected to be rinsed and left on the doorstep for collection, or rinsed bottles may be returned to a participating retail store. Bottle sizes vary depending on region, but common sizes include pint, quart or litre.
Milk crates are square or rectangular interlocking boxes that are used to transport milk and other products from dairies to retail establishments.
Plastic milk containers are plastic containers for storing, shipping and dispensing milk. Plastic bottles, sometimes called jugs, have largely replaced glass bottles for home consumption. Glass milk bottles have traditionally been reusable while light-weight plastic bottles are designed for single trips and plastic recycling.
This article outlines the position and trends of recycling in Canada. Since the 1980s, most mid to large municipalities in most provinces have recycling programs, relying on curbside collection with either bins, boxes, or bags. These systems are not standardized, and the specific process differs for each province. Certain provinces have container-deposit systems in place for bottles, cans, and other beverage containers.
Tetra Pak is a Swedish multinational food packaging and processing company headquartered in Switzerland. The company offers packaging, filling machines and processing for dairy, beverages, cheese, ice cream and prepared food, including distribution tools like accumulators, cap applicators, conveyors, crate packers, film wrappers, line controllers and straw applicators.
Ecologic Brands Inc. is a United States company that specializes in creating eco-friendly packaging for consumer products. The products are made from sustainable materials and are designed to be recyclable or compostable. The company also provides branding and marketing services to help companies promote their environmentally conscious products.
A low plastic water bottle is one that uses less plastic than a regular water bottle, typically by having the same internal volume but being made from thinner plastic. Some such bottles have less than half the plastic of a regular water bottle.
Bottles are able to be recycled and this is generally a positive option. Bottles are collected via kerbside collection or returned using a bottle deposit system. Currently just over half of plastic bottles are recycled globally. About 1 million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute and only about 50% are recycled.
Reusable packaging is manufactured of durable materials and is specifically designed for multiple trips and extended life. A reusable package or container is "designed for reuse without impairment of its protective function." The term returnable is sometimes used interchangeably but it can also include returning packages or components for other than reuse: recycling, disposal, incineration, etc. Typically, the materials used to make returnable packaging include steel, wood, polypropylene sheets or other plastic materials.
Package handles, or carriers, are used to help people use packaging. They are designed to simplify and to improve the ergonomics of lifting and carrying packages. Handles on consumer packages add convenience and help facilitate use and pouring. The effect of handles on package material costs and the packaging line efficiencies are also critical. A handle can be defined as “an accessory attached to a container or part for the purpose of holding or carrying.” Sometimes a handle can be used to hang a package for dispensing or use.
Packaging waste, the part of the waste that consists of packaging and packaging material, is a major part of the total global waste, and the major part of the packaging waste consists of single-use plastic food packaging, a hallmark of throwaway culture. Notable examples for which the need for regulation was recognized early, are "containers of liquids for human consumption", i.e. plastic bottles and the like. In Europe, the Germans top the list of packaging waste producers with more than 220 kilos of packaging per capita.
In Germany and Austria, the term yellow bag refers to a thin, yellowish transparent plastic bag, in which, in the context of local waste disposal, any waste made of plastic, metal or composite materials can be handed in. Depending on the agreement with the cities and municipalities, it may also be possible to use a 'yellow bin'. Yellow bags or yellow bins are part of the Dual System in the German waste management industry.