Costco, Wal-Mart's New Milk Jug: More Efficient, Less Popular

NORTH CANTON, Ohio -- A simple change to the design of the gallon milk jug, adopted by Wal-Mart and Costco, seems made for the times. The jugs are cheaper to ship and better for the environment, the milk is fresher when it arrives in stores, and it costs less.

What's not to like? Plenty, as it turns out.

The jugs have no real spout, and their unorthodox shape makes consumers feel like novices at the simple task of pouring a glass of milk.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[insanityfollows]

Easy solution. Buy 1/2 gallon cartons, which decompose if you forget to recycle them, and the kids can handle the 1/2 gallon size easier, anyway. (And so can the grown-ups.) Does 1/2 gallon cost a little more? Not always, and if you buy the cheaper 1 gallon jug, you spend extra money (and resources) on papertowels, anyway! And, the 1 gallon jug is made out of plastic (petroleum by-products), so the cost is going to keep going up-at least for the forseeable future.

Besides, if milk and cereal costs keep rising the way they are, this is going to become a moot issue, anyway. (I saw a small box of powdered milk for $9 the other day!) Gallons are somewhere around $6 a gallon where I live. Unreal.

[LCRover001]

The only savings are the production cost of making a smaller container, not to mention that the new container is not a gallon so for every so many new jugs the company saves so many gallons of milk, yet they charge the customer the same price per container as the old gallon jugs. Wake up and smell the rip off. They are trying to wrap it in an environmentally friendly spin, while they are really just sticking it to the consumer.

[TrevorAlan]

See, this is why even with the membership I don't buy everything at Costco. Milk is one of the few things you don't have to buy 5 times more than an average person uses before its expiration, but those jugs are annoying. Not impossible, but annoying.

[Idiocracy]

STOP DRINKING MILK

We are the only creatures who drink milk after the weaning process..

Milk is bad for you... and your kids.

Foolish people...

[jvarga]

STOP USING THE INTERNET.

We are the only creatures who use the internet.

The internet is bad for you.. and your kids.

Foolish people...

[CrzyRussell]

What is the carbon footprint of the internet? All of those servers need to be nice and cool. Maybe the UN should limit the amount of web sites to those only authorized and necessary.

Fight Global warmnng..

No.... fight climate change!

[AgeofReason]

The Canadians have had a better and cheaper solution for years. Their milk is sold in plastic bags. You slip one into a specially designed pitcher and snip the corner off. You have fresher milk, much less packaging, and therefore less waste. No giant jugs to lug around, and less space used in the fridge. When are we going to learn from our neighbors in the north?

[gonavy]

Great, my kids are going to be spilling milk everywhere! Costco already has a square jug, you can hold it and pour it. It fits nicely into a box too.

[ErnestineBass]

Lawdy, people...draw a circle. You know what an old-fashioned keyhole looks like? Draw that inside the circle. Now turn that drawing upside down so the hole is on the bottom and the slot points up.

Why do engineers either underthink or overthink EVERYTHING?

Common sense...my favorite oxymoron.

[gonavy]

I live with one, when I figure it out I'll give you a shout, if I don't strangle him first.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

Why blame him for your stupidity?

[Nyk]

They threw us a bit at first, but they are not rocket science to figure out. Although lately it seems people are getting dumber by the day, so maybe it is rocket science.

[Cynth]

I suspect most of these people are just being change-resistant... Just tilt and pour (vs. lift and pour). It's a small adjustment for something that's better for the environment, easier to store, and more cost-effective.

[Merckx]

We've been using the new milk containers since Costco started carrying them last year.
They work fine.

[dadw5boys]

STOP DRINKING THE MILK!!!!!!!!!

THE AMERICAN OBESITY PROBLEM STARTED AFTER THEY ALLOWED ADDITIVES TO BE PUT IN THE MILK!!!!!!!!!!

[SCG]

Corn sweeteners in the food supply didn't help either.

[Eric8869]

I''ll drink milk if I want to. if you don't ....then don't. Period.

[vippy]

I want non-pasteurized whole milk, fresh from the cow. This way we keep allergies at bay.
I hate all the homogonized and pasteurized food, heat destroys living microorganisms.

[jvarga]

Heat destroys living microorganisms. Its almost like you just described the point of pasteurization.

[chinacatsunflower]

i agree - cow's milk is for ........ calves!

[wm1066]

I buy organic whole milk that doesn't have additives.
Then I put table scraps in the empty cartons.

[ErnestineBass]

Years ago the chemicals used to process film in print shops arrived premixed in solution. The 2 1/2 gallon cubes were heavy and messy. Eventually someone came up with the bright idea of shipping just the dry chemical components, which could then be mixed with water IN THE FILM MACHINE. The savings in shipping costs were amazing.

This newly designed jug should save between 15% - 25% in shipping costs, and the solution to the pouring problem is ridiculously simple. One minor modification to the jug's opening would make it user-friendly.

[Smirk]

If it's difficult to pour from the bottle the milk comes in, put the milk in reusable containers at home that are easier to use.

[Hopalongpoppyseed]

I agree. After reading the article, the savings and environmental benefits seem worthwhile. Hey, there is a market here for someone to make and market the perfect easy to fill pourable-spout refrigerator milk containers.

[ErnestineBass]

Awww...c'mon guys! Why should you have to BUY another gizmo?

Wouldn't it make more sense to just fix the jug?