Simple innovation = greener milk bottles
The recent controversy over Frito-Lay’s biodegradable — but noisy — SunChips bag illustrates just how hard it can be for a well-intentioned consumer-oriented company to go green.
Rolled out with great fanfare after four years in development, the compostable crisps bag was yanked by Frito-Lay North America last month after customer complaints about the packaging’s loud crinkliness reached a fever pitch … though, oddly, the eco-package is still being touted on the company’s website. (Kudos, however, to Frito-Lay Canada, which is instead choosing to enthusiastically market the bag, crinkles and all, as an environmentally responsible choice.)
The whole affair demonstrates the myriad challenges of switching from a petroleum-based material to a greener alternative. In this case, the cornstarch polymer developed for the bags proved to go from soft and silent to stiff and crunchy at room temperature … something that’s not an issue with, say, wood-pulp-based polymers. It also shows just how resistant people can be to the most mild of inconveniences in the quest to improve sustainability. (Really, your snack bag is too noisy? Really?)
So we’re hoping UK shoppers can adapt to a tiny, but at least quiet, inconvenience in the shape of GreenBottle’s new compostable/recyclable milk container. Because the company’s innovation really illustrates some clever green thinking: use existing, proven materials in a new combination to produce a carton that’s far more eco-friendly without requiring higher-cost bioplastics.
Finance and technology director Martin Myerscough tells the story. After discovering just how many plastic milk bottles go unrecycled and into landfill in the UK, he began thinking about what kind of greener alternatives might be possible.
“When I did some research I found that the pulping technology used in milk bottles was well developed and designed for making high volumes. The problem was how to make the bottle waterproof — here the solution was fairly straightforward — a bag.
“If the bag were made loose inside the bottle then the consumer could remove the bag, once the milk had been used, and dispose of the bag and the cardboard in separate recycling streams. If the consumer does not recycle then the whole bottle will crush flat at the landfill and over time the cardboard will decompose leaving the small residue of the bag.”
Sounds simple, right? And it should be, as the GreenBottle is designed to be easily split apart after use so the outer cardboard can be separated from the inner plastic liner bag. The trick, as the SunChips story shows, will be getting buyers to adapt to a small change in habit. What’s promising about the GreenBottle concept so far is that it’s essentially the same in appearance and performance as a standard milk container.
“Our breakthrough bottle can be produced, filled and distributed in exactly the same way and at equivalent scale to plastic, but with a significantly reduced impact on the environment,” says Andy Brent, GreenBottle’s managing director and former brand marketing director for BSkyB Group. “It runs down existing production lines exactly as plastic bottles do, and consumers tell us they overwhelmingly prefer it — we’re very excited about the prospects for this amazing piece of design.”
“Consumers want to change – but they won’t pay more to do so, or take on extra daily hassle,” Myerscough adds. “GreenBottle makes it really easy for consumers to choose an environmentally-friendly alternative to plastic every day.”
Officially launched today, the GreenBottle will first appear in selected stores across East Anglia that carry milk from the Marybelle dairy in Suffolk. Milk in the new containers will also be delivered door-to-door by local milkmen. The product will be promoted by advertising agency Mother, which has also taken an undisclosed stake in the GreenBottle business.
