What ever it takes to help save the earth is great. People will just have to get use to using the new jugs.

Costco has used these jugs for at least 3 years. I never realized that people would find it hard to use them

Gotta love how they show it being poured into a styrofoam cup???! (shakes head)

An interesting engineering problem and an interesting solution.

I guess every little bit helps, I buy my milk from a local farmstand in glass bottles that I bring back for credit on the next bottle. That's the way to buy milk - and does it ever taste great!!!!

Not surprised by the styrofoam cup. Walmart only cares about the bottom line. The good for the environment part is just a side effect and good PR.

New eco friendly milk jugs is one thing, but this still does not negate the ridiculous business practices Wal Mart engages in to provide low prices to the consumer.... no benefits for thier employees, suing their employees for insurance money etc. I think Bill Maher said it best "No one will ever come close to being like the Nazis ... except for Wal-Mart."

Good, but it's still a plastic jug whose life in landfill if you toss it may be a thousand years or more, depending on whose research you read. Which takes fossil fuel energy to recycle if you recycle it. And the plastic is = a fossil fuel product that uses fossil fuel to manufacture and distribute. Of course it ships lighter than glass, saving fossil fuel. I'm with Sharon; buy it as locally as you can and take the bottle back for reuse.

I wonder if those new jugs, having to retain their integrity without the reusable milk crates of yesteryear, are not made with more plastic than before? By the looks of it, they have some specific design elements that would most likely help distribute the stress on the container, but I just can't imagine those flimsy cloudy plastics supporting one another as they travel cross-country!

I too support the local producers - however I don't drink milk, and so I usually purchase Rice or Almond milk and lately I have come across quite a quandary...how to recycle or reuse those tetrapak containers! I have heard rumors of the existence of recycling programs for the tetrapak, however I have not been able to find out where or who! Does anyone have any suggestions?

Oh - and this doesn't change the fact that I still refuse to shop at Wal-Mart! ;)

Any measure to make things more efficient is great step towards RE-based-totaly-sustainable-closed-loop society which is, ultimately, the only way for human to survave and thrive on this planet.

By the way, I feel irritated when somebody says "save the planet". Sorry but it's a wrong mantra! The bottom line is that the Earth is not going to die. We can not kill the planet. What is really at the stake here is us, the human race who is at the top of the food-chain and the most vulnerable to the collaps of bio-diversity.

Ultimately, we are still just a part of universal living system and dictated by the law of universal-eco-system. It means that, when we become a plague to it, the system will eliminate us. That's how nature works.

Playing devil's advocate in the interest of fairness: Whatever WalMart's flaws, they have a pretty good and consistent environmental effort going in the right direction, not just with this, but many other products and practices. We could expend lots of energy (no pun intended!)trying to divine or disparage their true reasons for moving toward smart sustainable choices, but the point is, they truly are, and you can't argue the value of that. And the styro cup, well--the picture is of a demonstrator in the store (check the background)and among disposables, styro leads as the most environmentally responsible choice. Unless something's come along in the last year or so to beat its previous standing....

Sam,

That surprises me to hear you say that. I was told that styrofoam will never ever ever decompose. Plastic may take a while, but it will do so - plus plastic can be recycled and styrofoam cannot. On what basis do you call it the "most environmentally responsible choice" of disposables?

Be it profit driven or environmentally inspired, I'm glad to see companies making choices that will make a difference.

I have made the switch in recent years to soy milk to try to reduce my impact even further. In response to t4mk4t, I have been looking for better ways to get my soy milk too. Having grown tired of tossing the tetrapaks and the cardboard half gallon cartons. I just purchased a soy milk maker online. The milk is WAY cheaper per gallon, I control what goes into it and I can use my own glass pitcher rather than worry about the impact of the container it comes in. In researching the milk makers, I believe it said that they can be used to make almond and rice milk as well. Might be worth looking into if you go through a lot.

Cheers.

I think Sam's point on the styro-cup is that styro takes less energy, is in large part air, and takes up little landfill space. But that does not pass for my idea of environmental nor the direction we would like to see humanity move. The picture is a classic example of people that don't think cradle-to-cradle.
Peace.

Donna - Thank you for the info! I will be on the lookout for the milk-makers...I have tried to make almond milk in my vita mix but there was a huge mess involved as well as a lot of leftover almond pulp I couldn't use fast enough! I hope the milk-maker and rice turn out to be a better combo - thanks!!

t4mk4t

I'm a recently converted environmentalist and from my perspective it frustrates me when I see every small step of progress met with the response that it's not enough. We need to start encouraging small steps rather than constantly shouting that more is needed and bragging about how we're better because we do more than they do. No one will ever be converted by being belittled, they will be converted by realizing that the small steps they can take make a real difference. Once people see that, it's easier to progress on to those larger steps. It's very easy for someone who's trying, when met with this criticism, to just give up and say "never mind, if I don't drink milk made from recylced garbage it will be never good enough" and just do nothing. Give people (and companies) a break. Wal-Mart isn't evil. They have flaws (as do the mom and pops we all complain they replaced) but they provide jobs and products people need just like every other company or they would go out of business. Think of what an advantage it is to only have to convince one company to be environmentally friendly rather than 10,000 individual mom and pop stores. Environmentalists should be working with Wal-Mart to show them how to do better - not yelling at them. They have the capacity to do a tremendous amount of good. Do we actually want change or would we rather be self-righteous and right all the time?

Since Sweden is the home of the tetra-pak, it is probably no surprise that all milk is sold in tetra-pak containers - possibly the most environmental way of packaging fresh milk, with zero wasted shipping space! While reusing glass containers may seem more environmental, the impact of their production, transportation of heavier materials, and washing requirements, and even the need for consumers to carry the glass containers back to a store, possibly causing extra car trips, all add up to unintended impacts. The tetra-paks for milk in Sweden all have a rip-away corner so no mixing of the wax-cardboard and plastic spouts. The recycling stations have a bin for all hard paper, including the milk containers. Much of the hard paper is "recycled" in the district heating plants, burning the paper to make hot water for heating and home use. So Wal-Mart still has a ways to go!

This jug is not user friendly, what they fail to show you in the picture is how the milk spills all over the counter when you pour from it. I thought it was me but the Sam's club workers told me the same thing. I'm sure they can come up with something that will pour well and is good for the environment.

This jug can be reshaped to solve the spillage problem. Why don't change it after 3 years' of complaint?

I stumled upon this while doing a search for milk jug. Yes, they are changing the milk jug for among other things, carbon footprint reasons, but you should consider moving to milk sachets or bags as some might call them. Liquid Living has developed a new product that makes the use of sachets so easy without spilling a drop and the milk stays fresher longer. The developed tap instantly seals with the wall of a sachet and the dispenser is very user friendly to put in your fridge or to even mount on a wall. This will allow you to contribute to the environment by saving 75% plastic. Further, as the end consumer, you will save even more by buying sachets!