Summary
Environmental impacts are increasingly important in procuring school milk services and must be considered alongside the contract cost and other procurement criteria.
WRAP Cymru worked with Monmouthshire County Council to review their choice of switching from single-use plastic milk bottles to re-usable glass milk bottles.
As part of the review, an alternative option was also investigated – a pergal system, which allows for the bulk storage of milk in a container that fits in a refrigerated dispenser.
A model was built to estimate the carbon and cost impacts associated with each of the three milk containers. Findings revealed that both glass milk bottles and the pergal system offered reduced carbon emissions and lower overall costs.
Key Facts
- Switching from single-use plastic milk bottles to reusable glass milk bottles eliminated plastic waste and reduced milk waste.
- Less milk wasted meant less milk ordered, which resulted in cost-savings of 39% for the local authority.
- The switch is also estimated to have resulted in a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
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