As a group of coffee enthusiasts who drink a fair amount of coffee a day, milk drinks are fairly common among us. While black coffee drinks like espresso and pour-overs are also common as well, as a conservative estimate, home coffee enthusiasts might use approximately 4 to 6 liters of milk per month. This translates to a significant amount of tetra-pack-type packing or plastic bottles.
One way is going back to how milk was delivered in many countries. The glass bottle. Reusing and refilling milk bottles is great for promoting sustainability. By using reusable milk bottles, we significantly reduce waste and minimize our environmental impact. Using a refill system encourages a circular economy, where bottles are returned, cleaned, and refilled, creating a closed-loop system that minimizes waste and conserves resources. Of course, reusing milk bottles reduces plastic pollution and landfill waste, helping to protect our ecosystems. This ties in very well with how we are reducing our coffee packaging waste through refilling and reusing coffee storage cans.
Farm Fresh Milk to the rescue
Imagine how glad we were when Farm Fresh Milk launched its Milk Bottle refill program. The concept was quite simple – buy the bottle and milk the first time, return the bottle for cleaning, and obtain a new refilled bottle. We tried it many times and it felt good using the glass bottles instead of throwaway packaged milk. The number of milk refill locations was few which made it harder but that’s because it’s a new program, and whatever your feelings about sustainability are, the general public still places value and convenience over sustainability. So it needs to be easier, or at least cheaper.
Roadblocks incoming
The challenge with this program was that it offered neither. The only thing we consumers get is a good feeling about being sustainable. If you listed the pros and cons on a list, you realized that the disadvantages outweighed the benefits.
By using a refilled bottle, you have milk that only lasts 7 days, 3 days once opened. That’s usually shorter than buying a packaged product. Refill locations are also few and inconvenient.
Is there a way out?
Easy. Look at Ikea. Ikea says that you assemble your own furniture because you save money. For us at Kopi Social, we know that consumers don’t mind bringing their own containers for refills when they get a nice discount on the beans plus the freshness of roast-to-order. My proposal to Farm Fresh is that the refills need to be cheaper than the packaged product. We know there are people costs involved but there is a savings on packaging and shipping costs on their end so probably something can be worked out.
