Milk goes green as 'papier mache' bottles hit supermarkets.

Milk goes green as eco-friendly 'papier-mache' bottles hit supermarkets nationwide 

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 3:19 PM on 30th January 2011

The revolutionary milk bottle is made out of recycled paper

A new environmentally-friendly milk bottle is set to go on sale in supermarkets throughout the UK.

Suffolk-based Martin Mysercough  invented the revolutionary GreenBottle after he saw the impact plastic milk bottles were having on his local landfill.

The bottles, which comprises of an outer shell made from recycled paper and a thin plastic liner to store the milk, will be rolled out across all Asda stores after a successful pilot scheme. 

The revolutionary outer shell of the green cartons, which look similar to a normal plastic milk bottle, can be recycles again or thrown away and will decompose in a matter of weeks. 

The average plastic bottle takes around 500 years to decompose and 15 million bottles are used every day according to The Guardian.

Mr Mysercough said he came up with the idea after speaking to a friend at a local pub.

He told the paper: 'A chap I row with was running the local landfill, so I asked him what was the main problem and he said plastic bottles, especially milk bottles and that got me thinking.'

The inventor then explained how his son's papier-mache balloon inspired him with the design and he played with several different designs before coming up with the GreenBottle.

Over 18 months, his team based in Framlingham worked on their design.

GreenBottle was first piloted in the Lowestoft branch of ASDA in May 2007 and sold at the same price as the milk in conventional containers.

It will now be a permanent fixture on the shelves nationwide starting with stores in Cornwall this week. 

Speaking in 2008 Chris Brown, head of ethical and sustainable sourcing at ASDA, said they had been impressed by the concept model.

'The GreenBottle is robust, practical and fit for purpose, meaning there is no danger of spilled milk at breakfast time,' he added.

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An out shell it made from paper. A loose inner bag is inserted into a paper spout. The bag is foulded and placed into the outer shell. The bottle is glued and filled.

An independent lifecycle analysis of the GreenBottle found it had a carbon footprint 48 per cent lower than that of a standard milk bottle.

The bottle is filled locally with milk supplied by Suffolk's Marybelle dairy. 

James Strachan, director of Marybelle Dairy, said: 'The GreenBottle system is the single biggest leap forward in dairy manufacturing technology in years.

'We are thrilled to be able to offer our customers the same high quality milk, in a more sustainable, high quality bottle.'

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs predicts that by 2020 half of all milk packaging will be made from recycled materials.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1351924/GreenBottle-eco-friendly-milk-bottle-hits-stores-UK.html#ixzz1CZE9Q8LS