MORRISONS is to trial the sale of milk in returnable glass bottles as part of its drive to reduce plastic and bring back traditional packaging.
The pilot will initially take place in England, with the 90p bottles holding a pint of milk sourced from local dairy farms.
The supermarket said that the introduction of glass bottles is expected to remove 40,000 plastic bottles from the selected stores per year. It added that, once returned, the bottles will be sanitised and can be reused for up to ten years or more.
Natasha Cook, packaging manager at Morrisons, 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.”
Steve Hynd, policy manager at environmental organisation, City to Sea, added, “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. We know this move is popular, with three out of four people telling us they want more refill options in shops as a way of tackling plastic pollution. This is Morrisons doing not only what’s right for the planet but also what their customers are telling us they want to see.”
