Milk bottles with coloured caps are being phased out by a number of supermarkets
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Consumers may have noticed a big change in the milk aisle on their latest weekly shop.
Soon to be gone are the days of picking up a blue cap for your whole milk, green for semi-skimmed and red for skimmed, as supermarkets are swapping their coloured milk bottle tops for clear versions.
In a bid to become more eco-friendly major chains including Waitrose and Aldi are making changes to their packaging, which may have thrown some shoppers off.
So what’s wrong with coloured milk bottle caps and why are we seeing an increase in white or clear versions?
Why are milk bottle tops now white?
Supermarkets are replacing coloured milk caps with white caps because they’re easier to recycle, as coloured caps cannot be easily recycled into food-grade packaging.
By using white or clear caps, businesses and consumers can reduce colour contamination in the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) stream.
Furthermore, recycled HDPE is in high demand as businesses are trying to become less dependent on virgin plastic.
Which supermarkets have introduced white caps?
In June Waitrose announced that it would replace the blue, green and red caps on its own-brand milk with clear versions following a successful trial.
“Milk is one of our best-selling products so to be able to bring this packaging improvement to an everyday essential across all of our stores is fantastic,” said Waitrose milk buyer Lisa Oaten, as reported by The Grocer.
“Partner and customer feedback during the trial has been overwhelmingly positive and this national rollout will help us achieve our goal of making more of the plastic we use circular and fit to be repurposed time and time again.”
Lidl announced in October that it would be replacing its green milk caps with clear caps in October.
The supermarket chain said that the move would enable 60 tonnes of plastic to be recycled and used to create milk bottles.
Scott Davey, senior buying director, said: “We remain committed to supporting our customers in helping them make more sustainable shopping decisions on a daily basis.
“Customer feedback during the trial was overwhelmingly positive and we are thrilled to be making this change permanent across Lidl stores. In addition, this move will help us achieve our goal of making more of the plastic we use circular and fit to be repurposed time and time again.”
Co-op announced in November it would be dropping coloured bottle tops. The supermarket chain said this will remove more than 150 tonnes of coloured plastic from HDPE streams per year.
“There are changes in store for how shoppers see milk bottle tops, with the new caps able to be more easily recycled and retained in the food sector unlike their coloured counterparts,” said Adam Williams, Co-op’s milk buyer.
“There is limited availability of food-grade recycled plastic and that is a challenge. It is important that packaging is viewed as a valuable resource.”
