Milk getting flat-top look
New containers allow for easier shipping, storage
By Heath Urie, Daily Camera
Published July 4, 2008 at 9:05 p.m.
Kevin Clifford / Associated Press
Carrie Stringham, of Winnemucca, Nev., looks at prices as she picks up a pack of new milk jugs while shopping at Costco in Reno, Nev. The square design allows for easier storage.
The future of milk could be headed for a shelf near you, as several grocery chains that serve Boulder County are considering changing the longtime and familiar plastic gallon jug.
Arkansas-based Sam's Club, a subsidiary of retail giant Walmart, began this week offering customers in 189 of its stores in 10 mostly Southeast states milk packaged in a square carton.
The plastic container, according to the company, does not require crates or racks for shipping and storage due to its stackable, flat-top design.
Because of its unique shape, trucks that haul the finished product to retail stores can carry about 9 percent more milk at a time, which reduces shipping costs and the overall price to consumers by 10 cents to 20 cents per gallon, the company claims.
A spokeswoman for Wal- mart and Sam's Club said Wednesday that neither company has a timeline for when they might include the new container in the Denver-Boulder market, partly because there are only a handful of companies that produce the product.
A representative for Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods said that company is currently investigating the new design.
Featured
-
2008 Voter’s Guide
Use our Ballot Builder tool to compare your viewpoints to the candidates.
-
A Dozen on Denver
Sandra Dallas wrote 'Lennie's tavern' for our ongoing fiction series. Check it out!
-
Rocky Multimedia
The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on today's events.
-
Bronco Dean's rant
Listen to Bronco Dean's totally biased pregame rant about the Broncos-Jaguars game.
-
Presidential Elections
See how Colorado counties have voted through the years.
-
County election profiles
A look at how residents in each Colorado county may vote.
-
A dream fulfilled
A Rocky Mountain News and MediaStorm production
-
Latest from Dove Valley
Click for more broncos videos.
-
Sam Adams' Open Mic
No. 44 means a lot to Floyd Little
Post your comment
Registration is required. Click here to create your free user account, or login below.
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.