Milk just got lighter: world’s lightest HDPE milk bottle created

UK plastic milk bottle producer Nampak claims to have created the world’s lightest four-pint high density polyethylene (HDPE) bottle, weighing just 32 grams. Standard four-pint milk bottles found in British supermarkets weigh 40 g, meaning that the new Infini bottle represents a 20% material saving.

The Infini bottle, which is stocked in a number of major retailers including Marks & Spencer, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, is claimed to be the lightest and strongest bottle currently on the market, but Nampak was able to further reduce the bottle’s weight.

The company says the lighter bottle could result in significant environmental improvements for the wider milk sector. If Nampak were to move its annual output of 2 billion bottles to the lighter Infini, 15,000 tonnes of resin would be saved each year. If the Infini bottle were to be used UK-wide, it would reduce the overall amount of resin used in UK milk packaging by 30,000 tonnes - a saving of 25%.

“Since its launch in 2012, Infini has been responsible for a paradigm shift in milk packaging, using considerably less material and more recycled plastic than has ever been achieved before,” said Eric Collins, Managing Director of Nampak Plastics.

“Feedback on Infini from milk processors and retailers has been extremely positive - and we know from extensive research that consumers also prefer the design to the standard bottle.

“However, at Nampak we’re always aiming to push innovation boundaries and our environmental leadership credentials as far as possible. With this in mind, we believe that we’ve reached a new pinnacle with the creation of a 32 g four-pint Infini bottle.”