Research into lightweight milk bottles

Dairy Crest, in conjunction with the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), has launched a project to research, design and pilot a new, handle-free plastic milk bottle. They aim to achieve a 10 per cent reduction in weight with the new bottle, which will set a new lightweighting standard for the milk industry.

Richard Pryor, Innovations Controller at Dairy Crest, said: "We know consumers need a handle on the large four pint milk bottles, but this project is to understand just how much of a necessity handles are on the smaller one and two pint bottles."

Estimates suggest that the UK milk industry produces between 130,000 and 150,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste annually through the sale of six billion litres of milk. If the handle-free bottles are adopted by retailers and manufacturers throughout the sector, plastic savings of 5,000 tonnes per year will be possible.

Elsewhere in the world, companies have gone even further in reducing waste when packaging milk. Milk pouches are already popular in Canada and Poland. They use a much lower amount of plastic: 40-60 per cent less than current bottles standard in the UK. They can be manufactured either with a built-in spout or used in conjunction with special, re-useable pitchers.