New Gallon Milk Jug Cuts Fuel, Labor and Carbon Costs

Big retailers are welcoming the new gallon milk jugs because it helps them save fuel, packaging and labor costs and pass the savings to customers. But customers are not happy with the new design.

The current gallon jug doesn’t allow other jugs to be stacked over themselves directly, instead requiring crates. The shipper has to make more trips from the dairy farm to the markets and requires frequent cleaning of the crates with lots of water, which adds to the costs. Superior Dairy has come up with a new design through its Creative Edge company that overcomes these problems. The new gallon milk jugs are square shaped which allows them to stack on top of one another. They don’t require a crate. All they need is a cardboard and shrink-wrap, both of which are recyclable. They require fewer trips to the marketplace, which helps save fuel and carbon costs. Also, fresh milk is possible with these new gallon jugs. Sam's Club is one of the companies that are using these new jugs. The company estimates that it has cut its labor in half and water use by 60 to 70 percent. Also, more gallons of milk fit in a truck and no empty crates are needed to be picked by the trucks. Sam’s Club told New York Times that it can store up to 224 gallons of milk in its coolers with the newer jugs, compared to the 80 gallons of milk from its old jugs. But the customers are not happy with the new jugs because they lack a real spout like the old ones. They say it is difficult to pour, and it is hard for the children to use these new jugs. Sam’s Club is setting up stalls and demonstrating how to use these jugs.