Milk is sold in bags in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes, but it could be approaching its expiry date. Part of the reason is changing consumer habits.
“Consumption of milk per capita has gone down every year over the last 30 years,” says Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. “Actually, it’s gone down by more than 20 per cent since 2015.”
While bagged milk is often cited as a unique Canadianism, it’s actually not sold west of Ontario. Those who prefer it, however, say it’s more cost efficient and some even believe it tastes better.
It’s worth remembering that being accepted in a blue bag and actually being recycled are two very different things. Much of the plastic we’ve “recycled” over the years just ended up in landfills in China.
Remember the old “Where does it go?” “Away,” PSAs from the late '80s and early '90s? Well, plastic recycling has been that, but at an industrial scale.
Yes, the plastic is quite thin and requires less power to recycle than the waxed cardboard or thick plastic jugs, if your recycling ends up recycled at all.
In Canada the energy costs are less important than the plastic waste as the majority of our electricity comes from hydro or nuclear.
And the plastic IS waste, “recycled” plastic can only make up a tiny faction of newly manufacture products and most waste is rejected anyway because it’s not “clean” plastic.
Thank you, good read! I just remember finding out a while ago that it was better than the environment (and it does make sense given how little plastic is used), but couldn’t find the source again.
With this new information, will consumers swing over to milk bags? Bagged milk is sold only in four-litre allotments in Canada, which may be too much for some consumers, leading to unconsumed or spoiled milk. This would wipe out any environmental benefits.
Precisely my concern above hahah, I don’t see why they can’t be sold individually with a little stamp on them stating the brand, the quantity and the percentage. We don’t really drink milk, we only use it for cooking and hot beverages.
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I love bagged milk, but I can’t go through THREE FUCKING BAGS as a family of two.
They’re more eco-friendly than the box or the jug, but I guess that goes against the goal of consuming more raw materials.
How is a plastic bag more environmentally friendly than a cardboard carton?
The cost to make and recycle carton cardboard polymers uses more resources than bags. Bags are found to be the most environmentally friendly. https://www.dal.ca/news/2021/11/29/milk-jugs--cartons-or-plastic-bags---which-one-is-best-for-the-e.html
More eco-friendly? Where I am we can’t recycle any of the bags whereas the box and jug we can.
It’s worth remembering that being accepted in a blue bag and actually being recycled are two very different things. Much of the plastic we’ve “recycled” over the years just ended up in landfills in China.
Remember the old “Where does it go?” “Away,” PSAs from the late '80s and early '90s? Well, plastic recycling has been that, but at an industrial scale.
As a family of 5, we go through it easily in a week.
To repeat: plastic bagged milk is more eco-friendly than cardboard?
Yes, the plastic is quite thin and requires less power to recycle than the waxed cardboard or thick plastic jugs, if your recycling ends up recycled at all.
Big if
In Canada the energy costs are less important than the plastic waste as the majority of our electricity comes from hydro or nuclear.
And the plastic IS waste, “recycled” plastic can only make up a tiny faction of newly manufacture products and most waste is rejected anyway because it’s not “clean” plastic.
I’ll back you up with a source since I just went down this rabbit hole on another comment https://www.dal.ca/news/2021/11/29/milk-jugs--cartons-or-plastic-bags---which-one-is-best-for-the-e.html
Thank you, good read! I just remember finding out a while ago that it was better than the environment (and it does make sense given how little plastic is used), but couldn’t find the source again.
Precisely my concern above hahah, I don’t see why they can’t be sold individually with a little stamp on them stating the brand, the quantity and the percentage. We don’t really drink milk, we only use it for cooking and hot beverages.
Also, the cardboard hasn’t been waxed in years. It’s plastic lined