Plastic milk bottles are one of the most visible waste outputs of the dairy industry and, here again, processors are making major improvements.

At present, an estimated 49% of plastic milk bottles are recycled, while the rest go to landfill. Consumers say they want to increase recycling and reduce their environmental impact, but look to the industry to drive the change.

That leadership is now being provided by a raft of dairy processors, working in concert with packaging experts Nampak. Millions of pounds are being invested in groundbreaking technology, which will take content from plastic milk bottles collected from household waste and recycle it back into food packaging for consumer use.

By 2020, dairy companies have pledged to use 50% recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic in their bottles, eliminating 65,000 tonnes of waste per year, and cutting in half demand for virgin HDPE.

Dairy Crest chases 5,000 tonne reduction in milk packaging waste

Dairy Crest has developed a prototype handle-free plastic bottle, which could save the dairy industry 5,000 tonnes of packaging waste each year. The one- and two-pint bottles require 10% less plastic to make than standard bottles.
The project is being supported by the Waste and Resources Action Programme.
Richard Pryor, Dairy Crest’s innovations controller, said, “We acknowledge that with nearly 6 billion litres of milk sold in the UK each year, our bottles are one of the most common items in domestic bins and we are making every effort, working with our partners, to innovate and reduce that impact.”
Dairy Crest is already supplying Marks and Spencer with milk in HDPE bottles containing 10% recycled plastic.