Smart Sustainability with Square Containers for Shipping and More

Sustainability is a problem that perhaps can never be solved. But with proper focus and efficient implementation we can mitigated this problem. Solving or mitigating this problem is similar to the age-old problem in marketing; whether for writing a blog or for selling products or selling food and its containers, we must always view the execution with the user's experience first and foremost.

Beverage containers such as water have been hit hard in the news and yet there is little talk about food containers in general especially milk containers.

Companies will not and cannot jeopardize the demand from the consumer. We as writers, I feel must take a stand to improve the world by educating the consumer to change the demand and, therefore, change the production of containers that hurt our sustainability efforts.

And yet, at the very same time, the producers of packaging must not forsake shipping convenience for the consumer's convenience of use.

Is this a big problem? Yes, but it is hard to see. If we look at the graph below for New York City, it appears beverage containers are not a large source of the problem. If we add in the fuel that is wasted from inefficient use of space in shipping, now we are seeing the problem in the full light.

For you see, what goes into the landfill is one small portion reported, what fuel we use to transport our food is just as important and perhaps in some area even more critical. The smog issues in large industrial cities can readily contest to this environmental concern that now has become an environmental hazard.

Sustainability demands a full solution. It is not just what goes into the landfill, it is also the efficiency of delivery. Yes, we are talking about logistics, the very basic of transportation. For you see, our highways are filled with semi-trailers, trailer hauling the packaged goods to our grocery stores and ultimately our kitchen table.

Our focus on sustainability needs to be more than just the numbers of the items sitting in the landfill. We must urge and support efficient packaging, packaging that is stored and shipped efficiently.

We have talked about the wastefulness of water bottles, we have praised companies for implementing triple bottom line, we have hailed the green enthusiasts such as Rothschild's Plastiki but we have ignored the environmental impact of the milk carton that takes 5 years to decompose! 5 years! Why are we doing something about our plastic milk cartons? What can we do? Are there options?

Join us as we explore some prototypes and inventions - both real and fictional.

The figures don't lie, the plastic milk jug comes in at taking up to 5 years to decompose. The milk carton, on the other hand is one of the most kind to our environment and has been tauted as one of the top five most "compostable" products. I don't if in reality "compostable" is a word but you understand the content of what we are trying to convey.

Yet there are other considerations for the delivery of milk - such as transportation costs.

Check out the possibility of packaging milk in a square jug. The mathematicians tell us this will save storage, save valuable transportation space and therefore gasoline.

So the question becomes simple, why haven't we seen the availability of the square carton in the marketplace? WalMart? Woodman's? Other major food retailers - Target too! Are you listening?

"According to the NY Times, Sam's Club can fit 224 gallons of milk in the space that previously held 80. They pack tighter in the truck, too, and with no empty, dirty crates to retrieve and wash, the dairy's cut truck trips, fuel costs, labor, and water usage by 60-70%." source: daddytypes.com

This potential design, square in shape, rather than rounded is proposed to add to greater efficiency.

Imagine being able to transport more milk in a smaller space.

This goal has some merit and we should strongly consider this "fictional" alternative to our classic milk jug.

Sadly, I always purchase the plastic jug. It is cheaper and lighter and yet look what I am doing to the environment. The cloth shopping bags, the choice of paper or plastic and yet that one item in my cart every week takes close to 5 years to decompose.

I kicked the habit of plastic water bottles. What is a gal supposed to do for milk?

Let's explore some more options...

The milk carton above is designed specifically to eliminate air pockets and therefore extend the life of milk. I don't know if there is any science behind this but it sounds plausible to me. Airtight containers work better for me in the dark, lonely corners of my refrigerator.

This version of the milk carton is simply pure user indulgence. Perhaps it fits or throw-a-way society better but I must ask what happened to the old fashioned glass of milk?!

The Straus Family Creamery introduced this "first-of-its-kind milk bottle that is biodegradable, compostable and recyclable."

The new bottle, developed by Ecologic Brands," has not been seen in the Midwestern United States by this author. Have you seen this bottle? Have it tried it? If so, please leave us some thoughts below.

Doesn't it make sense to support environmental stewardship?

The dairy industry is important both to our bodily health and our economic well-being. For example, one dairy cow generates close to $35,000 in economic activity.

Did you know that Wisconsin has one of the best roadway systems in the United States? Also, do you know why? It is because of the dairy industry.

Yet what goes into the landfills is only one piece in the puzzle for efficient and effective use of resources. To usher in sustainability, we must see the whole picture and take into account how important storage solutions are to our environment.

Sustainability and Storage Solutions - Long Term Investment

These sustainability issues are important not just for the environment but also for the bottom line of the packaging/food company. If they can save on shipping and fuel, ultimately this will benefit their bottom line.

When I feel self-indulgent, I will have to confess, I purchase the organic milk in the glass containers. What an absolute delight.

Yes, our vintage home still have the recessed area for the delivery of milk in the olden days.

While nostalgia yearns for the glass, the practical side of me, yearns for a truly sustainable milk carton, that is lightweight, convenient, doesn't take up much storage space in my refrigerator or the transportation truck and will decompose readily in order to be kind to our environment.

Global Stewards and Smart Sustainability

When will we see a sustainable carton on our grocery shelves? Retailers are you listening? Food producers can you change your operations? But first, consumers, we must become global stewards of our environment and request and support these new packaging options.

Or in a more visual terms, if we review the quote by Stephen Covey's guideline, leadership is about placing the ladder on the right wall. The wall, I propose we are missing in sustainability is the storage and shipping efficiency. Sustainability is more than just the numbers of what is filling our landfills. Our air quality is just as important as our ground water and land use.

While I haven't seen square milk packaging arrive as yet (with the exception of the old stand by glass milk jugs by Oberweis who has always been ahead of the curve - both in organic foods and also in packaging), I have seen since the launch of this hub, square containers for cottage cheese and also for butter.

We are making progress and not just thinking and talking about efficiency but we are seeing results. These packages are more efficient to transport and once you have them home in your refrigerator you will see the space savings immediately. They stack better, they are easier to see and yes, they do take up allot less room. The amount of space these square packages save is even noticeable in the small household refrigerator - imagine the space savings for the millions of miles they travel in the semi's from the producer's plant to our grocery store!

Commendation was given to Penn Waste for taking the initiative to now include all cartons in their waste program. This program defines cartons as "as a type of packaging that food and beverage products come in that you can purchase at the store. Cartons come in two forms – shelf-stable and refrigerated." Sadly, this does not include ice cream.

Cartons are defined as a type of packaging that food and beverage products come in that you can purchase at the store. Cartons come in two forms – shelf-stable and refrigerated.