Forget milk in a bottle, it's now in a bag

Following a successful trial, Waitrose announced today it is to sell milk by the bag in dozens of its stores.

Customers can also buy a £1.99 reusable jug to pour the milk into.

The environmentally friendly plastic sacs, called Eco Paks, were tested last year. The response was positive and Waitrose now plans to promote the milk bags in more than 50 stores around the country, including several in London.

The bags use 75 per cent less plastic than bottles. Milk in an Eco Pak costs 99p per litre, compared with about 86p per litre for milk in a plastic bottle. The milk is sourced from organic farming group Calon Wen.

Experts believe that the milk bags could make a significant impact on recycling rates.

At present, most supermarket milk comes in cartons or bottles made of high-density polyethylene, a type of plastic that can be recycled, although mainly in China.

Recent figures showed there are about nine billion plastic bottles sold in Britain, of which only seven per cent are recycled.

A Waitrose spokeswoman said: "Customers are increasingly aware of packaging issues and want to lead a greener lifestyle. Since we tested Calon Wen last summer customers have embraced the new concept."

It has not yet been decided which stores will be the first to get the Eco Paks but the spokeswoman said a significant number would be in the capital.

Richard Tomlinson, chairman of Calon Wen, said the response to the bag had been enthusiastic.

"People are increasingly aware of the packaging that they use, and the Eco Pak delivers the greatest reduction in plastic of any format currently available to the dairy industry," he said.

"We are now in discussions with several major retailers about rolling out the concept, so that the Eco Pak is more available for people to buy."

Calon Wen, a co-operative owned by more than 20 farming families from across Wales, was the first dairy in Britain to achieve the Soil Association's Ethical Trade Symbol.

Several other green ways to deliver milk are also being developed.

The Greenbottle, used by Suffolk dairy Marybelle, consists of a recycled cardboard bottle with a plastic liner.

It has already been tested in Lowestoft by Asda and the company is hoping to launch nationally later this year.

An Asda spokeswoman said the multiple was working with local dairies, because shipping around the country would defeat the object of having an environmentally friendly container.