Comments on White Space: Remember the milk carton

All milk packaged is homogenized and pastuerized. ...

2012-01-24T23:48:18.405+05:30

All milk packaged is homogenized and pastuerized. ESL (Extended Shelf Life) milk is processed @ 280 degrees and depending upon the packaging will last from 3 to 6 months. Aseptically packaged milk will last 6 month unrefrigerated. This is packaged in a completely sterile invironment with positive air pressure so that absolutely no outside contaminates may enter the filling zone. Yohoo, Horizon Organic milks and other prisma packed milks are very safe and do not have to be refrigerated to keep them safe.

The Aavin or Nandini milk packets can be recycled....

2010-07-18T08:41:53.182+05:30

The Aavin or Nandini milk packets can be recycled.
But tetrapack - being a combination of paper/plastic cannot be recycled! They are sometime reused by flattening & cutting them round for use & throw party plates.

Therefore plastic covers are relatively better?

I guess the bottles went out of fashion because they could break and there was a logistical collection problem. In fact the flavoured milk bottles you get now are rarely recycled/reused!

-Meera

Damn, I was going to say the exact same thing that...

2009-06-13T01:21:07.283+05:30

Damn, I was going to say the exact same thing that Ashok said above.

This is a serious enough issue given how important milk is in our Indian diet and how many households in a city are throwing away milk packets everyday. Sigh. The price we pay for being an economic superpower.

When I lived in the US, I was appalled by the number of ways personal convenience translates to slow and irreversible environmental disaster. India is definitely going that way, but we can change our thinking at the individual level.

Processed (pasteurized) milk can last from weeks t...

2009-06-05T15:43:04.388+05:30

Processed (pasteurized) milk can last from weeks to months, depending on the pasteurization technique (heat, pressure etc). i am not sure if the 'packet milk' is pasteurized or not, but yeah, it does go off quick. On the other hand, there's a whole debate about the quality of the milk with respect to how pasteurization affects the taste and/or vitamin content etc.

By 'we have been using in India' I was referring to someone in the neighborhood (or milkman) bringing milk in a tumbler to your door. I was not talking about the 'packet milk'. Anyway, unfortunately even the most forward thinking nations are not going back to milk bottles, and I just can't imagine why (I am sure there's a good reason).

regards,
Ashok.

@Ashok The reason behind me buying milk carton is ...

2009-06-05T14:58:00.789+05:30

@Ashok The reason behind me buying milk carton is coz it can be stored over a longer period. The other packet paal gets spoilt in a day's time. And i use only a dash of milk for my morning tea. You do have a valid point but i think the polythene packets are more dangerous that the cartons. And milk bottles i India will be risky. At least the packets i think cant be re used. :-) May be in firang land like yours, the bottles will work.

I detest tetra packs of all sorts, but for a diffe...

2009-06-05T13:25:51.119+05:30

I detest tetra packs of all sorts, but for a different reason!

For years I was very proud of the low-carbon-footprint methods we have been using in India to distribute milk, compared to disgusting overindulgant wasteful ways of the west where the billions of cartons clogging the landfill sites and countryside.

Bring back reusable milk bottles, or how about milk fountains where one can fill up their own bottles or whatever?

Rant over.

Ashok.