PURA produces SA milk bottles with less plastic

PURA has made its 2 L milk bottles in South Australia among the lightest in the nation by reducing the amount of plastic used to produce them. Each bottle will now contain 1 g less plastic, making the total bottle weight 38 g, compared to the older bottles at 39 g. The change contributes to removing 8 t of plastic annually from circulation.

Mary Stafford, Head of Marketing White Milk at Bega Dairy and Drinks, said the ‘Choose a Better Bottle’ initiative is part of the company’s commitment to sustainability and will help minimise its ecological footprint while reducing plastic pollution and carbon emissions.

The reduction of plastic from milk bottles in South Australia now aligns with the PURA milk bottles manufactured in other states. Since 2019, PURA has removed over 525 t of plastic from its 2 L bottles nationally, applying to all variants, including Full Cream, Light Start, Lactose-Free Full Cream, Lactose-Free Light Start and Skimmer.

The bottles will include neck tags containing plantable seed sticks exclusively designed for South Australians, including poppy, everlasting dairy, basil or lettuce. The tags will be available on bottles across South Australia at Coles and Foodland, starting 31 May.

“We want to encourage customers to repurpose their milk bottle as a plantar and watch the herbs or flowers grow. With our customers’ combined effort and support, we can plant the seed of change for a bright future.” Stafford said.

PURA has created a microsite, betterbottle.com.au, to further celebrate this. The microsite references the achievement of zero waste to landfill at PURA’s Salisbury manufacturing site in South Australia, a milestone that took over 12 years of collaboration to achieve.