A local Co-op store in Sheffield is bringing back the glass milk bottle, in response to demand from customers and the war on plastic.
The store, on Ecclesall Road, is selling glass pint bottles from local farm Our Cow Molly, four miles away. Customers can return the bottles to the shop to be re-used by the dairy.
According to store manager Pete Cooper, the glass bottles are proving a hit and he’s planning on increasing his order to meet demand.
Mr Cooper said: “We’re the first Co-op in the country to sell milk in glass bottles and we believe we’re the first supermarket in the country to do so too.
“It fits in with the Co-op’s ethos as an environmentally friendly company keen to do what it can to reduce plastic waste. And the response shows just how close the issue is to people’s hearts. It’s also great to be supporting a local farm only a few miles away.”
Our Cow Molly already supplies a local convenience store with milk in glass bottles – where customers get a discount on their next pint when returning their used bottles. Other stores in the city are now planning to follow suit.
Director of Our Cow Molly, Eddie Andrew, said: “It’s great that the Co-op has become the first major supermarket in the UK to listen to environmentally conscious consumers asking for milk in glass bottles, and to give them what they want. We’re really proud we’ve been able to get our milk on the shelves there and help reduce plastic waste.”
According to recent research, a glass bottle needs to used at least 13 times before becoming better for the environment than a plastic one. Mr Andrew said this was easily the case with the bottles it delivers, some of which he claimed have been in circulation for 20 years.
