GreenBottle : An innovative eco-friendly milk jugs

The UK dairy industry and government have published in May 2008 a 'Milk Road Map' detailing how they intend to reduce the effect milk production has on the environment. The key road map targets are as follows:

1. 50% of plastic milk bottles recycled into new bottles
2. 30% reduction in water use per tonne of finished product
3. All tertiary packaging to be recyclable or re-usable
4. 10% of processors' non-transport energy to come from renewable sources of CHP
5. Mandatory energy benchmarking for processorsFarmers to recycle or reuse 70% of non-natural waste
6. 40% of energy used on farm comes from renewable sources
7. 20-30% reduction in greenhouse gas balance from farms, compared with 1990 levels
8. Retailers to ensure that all new stores emit less carbon than existing ones.

The GreenBottle is the first milk bottle in the UK to be 91% recycled and 99 % recyclable. Designed and manufactured in Britain, Greenbottle is an innovative recycled cardboard milk container that uses a smart two-part system to aid recycling. The outer shell is made from recycled waste office paper which can then be further recycled, or if left it will just decompose within a matter of weeks. The inner liner, which takes up less than 0.5% of the space of a plastic bottle if dumped in a landfill, prevents liquid from contaminating the paper outer.

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• The GreenBottle consumes about a third of the energy required to make a plastic bottle.
• Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) carried out by Pira International found the two-litre GreenBottle had a 48% lower carbon footprint than the equivalent plastic bottle.
• The GreenBottles fit easily into the existing supply chain.
• The GreenBottles can be used for milk, juices, smoothies, yoghurt drinks, squashes and concentrates, water, shampoos, hand creams, liquid detergents, engine oils and probably many more liquids that we don't even know about yet.

Asda, part of the Wal-Mart family, will start selling its own-brand milk in GreenBottle.

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