Paper milk bottle could be next great British invention, says retailer
The container is the brainchild of British inventor Martin Myerscough who describes it as ‘planet friendly packaging’. In development since 2007, the bottle has now been taken up by supermarket chain Asda, which will be selling it in four stores Cornwall from this weekend onwards for milk supplied from local dairy Trewithen.
“With each plastic milk bottle taking around 500 years to decompose and an amazing 15 million of them used each day, a greener solution would make a major impact on milk bottle waste; and GreenBottles can be composted in just a few weeks,” said the retail giant.
The GreenBottle consists of a paper outer shell and an inner lining made of plastic. The paper is compostable and biodegradable. The paper casing can be detached from the inner shell to ensure ease of recycling.
“We first tested prototypes of GreenBottle a couple of years, ago, and have been working tirelessly since to optimise our design,” said company managing director Andy Brent. “We now have a bottle that can be produced, filled and distributed in exactly the same way as plastic, and which consumers tell us they overwhelmingly prefer”.
Asda’s head of ethical and sustainable sourcing, Chris Brown, said: “As a business we’re always looking for ways to improve sustainability. The milk category is obviously massive for us and if GreenBottle helps reduce waste in our customers’ homes, there’s no doubting it has the potential to become the next great British invention.”
