The square milk jug is a variant of the one-gallon (3.785-liter) plastic milk container sold in the United States. [1] The design was introduced in the summer of 2008 [1] and is marketed as environmentally friendly because of the shape's advantages for shipping and storage (better cube efficiency).
Square milk jugs are stackable and 9% more can be shipped in the same space. [1] They also eliminate the need for milk crates, which are required for traditional bell-shaped jugs. [2]
The technique used to pour milk from a square milk jug is different from that of a traditional milk jug. A Sam's Club representative suggests "tilt it slowly and pour slowly" [3] and a dairy owner in Yerington, Nevada, where some square milk jugs are filled, described the pouring technique as "rock-and-pour instead of a lift-and-tip". [3]
Environmental benefits and cost savings are the primary stated benefits of square milk jugs, although there are noticeable trade-offs.
Because more milk fits on each truck, shipping costs can be reduced by half; this reduces the number of trucks on the road each year by 11000 (US estimate). Stores that required five shipments per week in traditional containers now only require two, resulting in lower fuel consumption. [4] Instead of being packed in reusable crates, the square jugs are shrink wrapped for shipment; however, the hundreds of square feet of single-use polyethylene film "stretch wrap" used on each pallet raises significant new environmental concerns. If one pallet uses approximately 175 linear feet of film, a 40 x 48 inch pallet 6 feet tall will hold 80 cubic feet or 360 gallons of milk (given 4.5 gallons of milk per cubic foot), and require 1,056 square feet of film, equaling just under 3 square feet of film per gallon. [5] Only around 5% of stretch wrap is actually recycled; the remainder contributes to significant environmental fallout.
Manufacturers claim that this rectangular design has cut water use by 67% to 70%, according to one dairy, since there are no crates to be cleaned; the absence of dirty crates also reduces the risk of jugs carrying contamination. [3]
Critics of square milk jugs have noted increased spillage and difficulty pouring. [3] This is a problem specific to the gallon size that has a much larger mass when first opened.[ clarification needed ]
There are also cost advantages resulting from lower shipping costs for the retailer and these can be passed on to the consumer. The cost to a consumer of a gallon of milk in a square milk jug is 10¢ to 20¢ cheaper than a gallon of milk in a traditional milk jug. [3] [6]
Because square milk jugs can be stacked, they require less labor at the dairy, and can be packaged more quickly, which allows the milk to be shipped sooner, providing fresher milk to the retailer. [7] The wide mouth is also easier to fill which reduces the likelihood of spillage and the sanitary issues caused by milk getting on the container. [1]
The shape of the jug also allows more milk to be stored in a milk cooler. One Sam's Club store reported fitting 224 square gallon jugs in an area that only held 80 traditional one gallon jugs. [3] [6]
Square milk jugs have been adopted by some Wal-Mart, Costco and Sam's Club stores. [3]
Consumers have criticized the square milk jug for being difficult to pour, especially for children. [3] When tilted shallowly, the larger opening (larger than a traditional milk jug), combined with its small lip, generates a wide stream of milk. [8] This causes spills and leaks onto the sides of the container. [8]
Some Sam's Club stores offered lessons on pouring, complete with complimentary cookies. [3] Concern was also raised on the issue of the narrower base of the square jug, which allows it to be stored in the door of many refrigerators. Milk stored in this area may be more prone to spoiling due to frequent drastic changes in temperature. [2]
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. Immune factors and immune-modulating components in milk contribute to milk immunity. Early-lactation milk, which is called colostrum, contains antibodies that strengthen the immune system and thus reduce the risk of many diseases. Milk contains many nutrients, including protein and lactose.
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.
Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a coordinated system of preparing goods for transport, warehousing, logistics, sale, and end use. Packaging contains, protects, preserves, transports, informs, and sells. In many countries it is fully integrated into government, business, institutional, industrial, and for personal use.
A pallet is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, a pallet jack, a front loader, a jacking device, or an erect crane. Many pallets can handle a load of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). While most pallets are wooden, pallets can also be made of plastic, metal, paper, and recycled materials.
A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products (goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to consumers. A distribution center is a principal part, the order processing element, of the entire order fulfillment process. Distribution centers are usually thought of as being demand driven. A distribution center can also be called a warehouse, a DC, a fulfillment center, a cross-dock facility, a bulk break center, and a package handling center. The name by which the distribution center is known is commonly based on the purpose of the operation. For example, a "retail distribution center" normally distributes goods to retail stores, an "order fulfillment center" commonly distributes goods directly to consumers, and a cross-dock facility stores little or no product but distributes goods to other destinations.
A squround is a container whose shape is between a square and a round tub. It resembles an oval but is sometimes closer to a rectangle with rounded corners. These allow the contents to be easily scooped out of the container. The name is a portmanteau for "square round" (cartons), referring to a compromise between a square and a round carton.
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.
Intermediate bulk containers are industrial-grade containers engineered for the mass handling, transport, and storage of liquids, semi-solids, pastes, or solids. The two main categories of IBC tanks are flexible IBCs and rigid IBCs. Many IBCs are reused or repurposed.
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.
A tea chest is a type of wooden case originally produced and used to ship tea to the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The conventional tea chest is a case with riveted metal edges, of approximate size 500 by 500 by 750 millimetres.
The term unit load refers to the size of an assemblage into which a number of individual items are combined for ease of storage and handling, for example a pallet load represents a unit load which can be moved easily with a pallet jack or forklift truck, or a container load represents a unit for shipping purposes. A unit load can be packed tightly into a warehouse rack, intermodal container, truck or boxcars, yet can be easily broken apart at a distribution point, usually a distribution center, wholesaler, or retail store for sale to consumers or for use.
A wooden box is a container made of wood for storage or as a shipping container.
A milk bag is a plastic bag that contains milk. Usually one of the corners is cut off to allow for pouring, and the bag is stored in a pitcher or jug.
In shipping, break-bulk, breakbulk, or break bulk cargo, also called general cargo, is goods that are stowed on board ships in individually counted units. Traditionally, the large numbers of items are recorded on distinct bills of lading that list them by different commodities. This is in contrast to cargo stowed in modern intermodal containers as well as bulk cargo, which goes directly, unpackaged and in large quantities, into a ship's hold(s), measured by volume or weight.
A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context of international shipping trade, "container" or "shipping container" is virtually synonymous with "intermodal freight container", a container designed to be moved from one mode of transport to another without unloading and reloading.
Shelf-ready packaging (SRP) and retail-ready packaging (RRP) refers to the packaging of a product so that it is delivered to a retailer in packaging which is optimized for efficient stocking and sale.
Rockview Farms was established in Downey, California, in 1927 by Bob Hops. In 1930, Mr. Joseph J. McCandless organized the dairy. In 1938, Rockview Farms won a gold medal in the raw milk exhibit at the Los Angeles County Fair. The McCandless brothers were selling retail with the help of Joseph McCandless' wife from Ireland.
A Euro container, also called Eurobox, Euro crate or KLT box, is an industrial stacking container conforming to the VDA 4500 standard. The standard was originally defined by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) for the automotive industry, but was subsequently adopted across many other areas of manufacturing and the shipping industry. The most common sizes are 600 × 400 mm and 400 × 300 mm, which can be stacked together to fill a Euro-pallet measuring 1200 × 800 mm.
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.
The handle on the opposite corner is both surprisingly slender and awkwardly close to the top. It is a container suited for fertilizer, gasoline, deicer or marbles. I would not use it for food.
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