Glass vs. Plastic for Edgewood Creamery

​Glass or plastic? 

When we began conceplating the idea of bottling milk, we had a divided house about whether to use glass or plastic containers. A few were adamant we use glass because it's perceived by consumers to be a superior product. The plastic side were worried about expenses relayed to our customers. 

As we researched and researched and researched, we found glass bottles weren't a crystal-clear choice for Edgewood Creamery. The more we dove into glass, the more negative aspects kept shining through to us. 

Below are our top reasons for not choosing glass:

• Reason No. 1 - Price-point for our customers. We produce very high-quality, grass-fed milk which is a premium product, and we felt charging for glass wouldn't be budget-friendly.

• Reason No. 2 - Reusability. Typically, glass bottles can only be reused an average of 5 times before they become etched, pitted or broken. We found this to be significantly less environmentally-friendly than recycling plastic containers. 

• Reason 3 - Chemical use. The chemicals involved to clean and sanitize glass bottles are extremely corrosive dangerous. 

• Reason 4 - Oxidation of milk. By using glass bottles, milk is at risk for light oxidation. This reaction between light and nutrients in the milk causes essential amino acids to break down. We want to maintain the high-quality milk we work so hard to produce for you! 

• Reason 5 - Energy usage. It takes more energy to produce glass than plastic and transportation and handling of glass is much more difficult. 

Thank you for taking the time to read! We understand each business has their own goals and standards, we chose the material we thought would best fit us and our customers! 

As a side note: plastic from milk bottles is usually recycled into toothbrushes, flowerpots, toys, and consumer products packaging such as, liquid laundry products, household cleaners, shampoos, conditioners and skin care products.

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