To think using a milkman is good for the environment

[Meadowland]

Just that really. Using returnable glass bottles instead of plastic.
Mine also delivers lots of organic stuff.
I know it works out more expensive, but there are usually plenty of things on offer, and I get so much from mine so save on fuel.

Totally agree. We have a milkman

I like having it in the glass bottles. Wish they delivered organic stuff too. They did do eggs which were local but in plastic packaging!

I disagree. More gas used, companies are no longer able to reuse glass containers for many reasons, your saving fuel is negated by the delivery to your door in terms of environmental impact, etc.

We have just changed to using a milkman. I love it, it reminds me off my own childhood and I love waking up in the morning to find milk on the doorstep. It's a very small thing but I like using one less piece of single use plastic. It is more money but worth it in my opinion. We all need to pay a price to help the environment, if we have the means.

Aren’t milk floats electric?

companies are no longer able to reuse glass containers for many reasons

That's nonsense - glass milk bottles can be re-used up to 50 times and, after that, can be efficiently recycled.

I'd like to know if there's a definitive answer to this as have been considering.

companies are no longer able to reuse glass containers for many reasons

That's not true, all glass milk bottles are washed and reused. Where did you get that information?

Our milkman's float is electric and we leave the glass bottles out for reuse / recycling. We only order what we need so no waste of milk.

We switched a few months ago, it’s more expensive, but the glass bottles are recycled, the milk float is electric, can order additional stuff up to 9pm and also the dairies pay farmers more for their milk than some supermarkets.

Aren’t milk floats electric?
They used to be years ago (when I used to go on the milk with my Dad) but the range wasn’t that great, didn’t matter so much when they’re we’re milk rounds that included nearly the whole neighbourhood but over the years as people stopped using them and the rounds got bigger distance wise they were mostly swapped for diesel vans.

I tried this at the start of the summer. The company repeatedly missed deliveries, charged me for non deliveries, impossible to get hold of. By the time I finished with them they had taken over £20 of my money and only delivered one pint of milk and one pint of juice. Nice idea but just not worth the hassle.

Those is areas where they are still popular/nearer to the depot can probably still use electric.

It's about 3 times more expensive than the supermarket and also the fuel for delivery is more than if you picked up milk with your main shop.

I would buy milk in glass bottles if they sold it in local shops but don't want a delivery.

We have a milkman. He will even deliver raw milk on request- it tastes like milk used to. The birds peck the tops for the cream; it’s like going back 40 years!

All our neighbours use him too.

I stopped our milkman as they lengthened the gap between deliveries and my milk kept going sour. Such a shame

Mine uses a diesel van and the milk is still delivered in plastic cartons. The orange juice is in a returnable glass bottle though. I’m nearly six quid a week for six pints of blue milk and a pint of orange juice which I could def get cheaper even in the local co-op but I like the convenience of it and I like to think it provides better pay for producers.

We get milk from the milkman. One of our first deliveries was through snow (unseasonal, when we got heavy snow on the south coast in mid March!) - very impressed.

Not all areas still have milkmen. Mine doesn't and I'm not sure it would be better because I'm quite rural.

Well, dairy is pretty bad for the environment.

But the glass bottles are hopefully ok though. I've recently swopped some of mine to glass.

I tried it but had to cancel him. The milk was delivered in 4 pint plastic bottles 3x per week at 4am. It had obviously been loaded up on the van the night before and consequently I ended up throwing so much milk away as it had gone sour within a day!
When I phoned to cancel the young woman wasn’t in the least bit sorry or interested. Not a good way to run a business.

Our milkman uses an electric milk float. I hear the hum of it in the small hours when he delivers. And the glass bottles definitely get re-used. You can tell by how scuffed and scratched they are.

It's expensive, but you pay for the convenience. And I don't do as many "big shops" when I can order juice/cheese/veg/eggs etc to last a few more days. They have some pretty good offers, too. The only downside is that I find the bottled milk doesn't seem to last as long as supermarket milk before going off.

Well given that it's more expensive, it's not going to appeal to many people.

Mine is 81p per pint in the glass bottle. The bottles are definitely recycled.

I get a delivery 3x per week and can change quantities until late the night before delivery.

My delivery is usually at 2am!