Global Food Collaborative

A bag of milk?   At first I thought they meant, bring the entire cow home.

Sainsbury's, one of the UK's largest grocery chains announced this week that they are going to begin selling milk in recyclable bags.   The milk bags will fit into a re-usable jug.  Jugs will be given out during the month of April to encourage the "early adopters" of the transition to bags from traditional plastic jugs and cartons. 

What' the inspriration behind the bags?     

Cost benefit to the consumer:   About ten cents less then a traditional pint jug or carton.

Cost benefit to the merchant:    Less, but that may remain proprietary.  What is known according to the press release from Sainsbury is that the new bag "uses 75 per cent less packaging and is cheaper to produce. "   Needless to say this is a significant boost to the bottom line of a retailer that claims they sold over 785 million pints last year. 

Cost benefit of packaging resources:   A savings of over 3,000,000 pounds of packaging every year not to mention the reduction on landfills with plastic milk bottles.

Milk sold in bags is not new, but it isnt mainstream either.  Competitors in the UK have debuted the bags.   Canada, Poland, South Africa and China already have access to bagged milk at local retailers.  

Kudo's to big companies, making big changes to reduce waste.     While sustainability, recycling, going local and all of the other movements get a lot of face time in the press, what does not is waste.       The food supply chain is wrought with waste at every link.   It has always been shameful.  

Do I mind that retailers are likely finding a higher profit margin in bags, due to their reduced cost?       No way.     I say keep on keeping on, but what's next? 

Beer in a bag?  Freeze dried fresh salmon in the natural foods bulk section?    Shell-less eggs in a bag?    Bulk containers of cosmetics?   Distribution of consumer food in "carbon friendly communities" through pipelines or vacuum tubes?       

Hey, I'm game.  Bring it on.