Wal-Mart and Costco have something new they’d like you to try— a square milk jug. The NYT says the new square jugs “are cheaper to ship and better for the environment, the milk is fresher when it arrives in stores, and it costs less.” So what’s the catch? Apparently, while the new jugs are helping cut costs, they kind of suck at pouring milk.
“I hate it,” said Lisa DeHoff, a cafe owner shopping in a Sam’s Club here.
“It spills everywhere,” said Amy Wise, a homemaker.
“It’s very hard for kids to pour,” said Lee Morris, who was shopping for her grandchildren.
Sam’s Club is offering milk pouring lessons complete with free cookies, in an effort to help acclimate consumers to the milk jug of the future:“
Just tilt it slowly and pour slowly,” Ms. Tilton said to passing customers as she talked about the jugs’ environmental benefits and cost savings. Instead of picking up the jug, as most people tend to do, she kept it on a table and gently tipped it toward a cup.
Mike Compston, who owns a dairy in Yerington, Nev., described the pouring technique in a telephone interview as a “rock-and-pour instead of a lift-and-tip.”
Demonstrations are but one of several ways Sam’s Club is advocating the containers. Signs in the aisle laud their cost savings and “better fridge fit.”
Has anyone tried these new square jugs? Were you able to pour it? Or were you crying over… um, your inability not to spill milk?
Solution, or Mess? A Milk Jug for a Green Earth [NYT]
(Photo: David Maxwell/New York Times)
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@The Count of Monte Fisto: ROFLMAO! This was by far my favorite comment. I am still laughing 10 minutes later.
My boss has been getting these since probably December at CostCo, and he says they suck to pour from. The handle is badly placed, apparently, and the “spout” / gaping hole in the top is as wide as a 12 oz. coffee cup, according to him. Hopefully he’ll bring one in and I’ll take a picture, but considering that I remember him complaing about them all week last year about them changing to the design, I have no doubts that they do suck. I, for one, vote we go to tall rectangular cardboard packages, which are far more recyclable, and while it can be difficult to make them anything other than unwieldy in gallon sizes, it would certainly be a better option.
@randombob: The deal is that they are switching from the old crates to boxes because the jugs are now stackable. You’re not gonna get more jugs in there, but the cases take up less space. The true savings will be in their warehouse labor, since they no longer have to take back the crates and wash them, plus they have an empty truck at the end of the day which can be used for back haul, instead of being full of crates. It may be greener because it should be more fuel efficient, but less green because they are using cardboard instead of reusable crates.
@Balisong: Freshness would be first due to the handling of the milk from dairy to store, and all points between. This new jug has the possibility to maintain freshness due to less airspace between the jugs during transport and storage, thereby maintaining best temperatures. However, for every hour of milk being kept at 50 degrees, you lose one day of shelf life. And milk is supposed to last beyond the “sell by” date on the carton. Sounds like someone left it on the dock for a while.
To be honest, these spill less for me. Didn’t know there was a problem with these when I first came across ‘em a few weeks ago, but they don’t dribble down the sides as much as the old containers. Since I was a kid I learned bring the bowl/cup to the mouth and tilt, so no new techniques for me.
As for their claims of a better jug, you have better control over the container since you have a longer lever arm, and can keep it on the table for a greater volume of the milk. The design is also more compact, so less plastic (less surface area), and less surface area means the milk stays colder longer, and therefore helps it stay fresh longer. In fact I had fun trying to come up with all of the inherent advantages before reading the sign that lists them all. I got all but the “easier to fit in the fridge”. Yes, these things make a lot of sense. You can actually pour these and be _lazier_ while at it, so stop complaining please. I hate to sound insensitive but I just can’t see why people think these should be boycotted.
I might have to contact Costco to let them know I like these containers so they don’t only get negative comments.
All this talk about square packaging has shown me how inefficient all my belongings are. The wind (or is it merely psychic pain) howls through oddly shaped items in my home, very few of which are as perfect as a Costco milk jug. I won’t be satisfied until I’m scraping Spaghettio’s out of the corners of a cubed can. Maybe I can hammer all the cans in my cupboards until they are squared off and fit together the way they should, nay, they must. And there’s my dog, just laying there, all splayed out in odd angles and curves like an anarchist–there isn’t one cube on him, not one. He’s all inefficient curves. Do you know how many dogs I could fit in your dog bed if you had the dimensions of a saltine box? Can animals be bred to be stacked like milk cartons?
@W24x192: I for one will welcome our vat-and-tanker wielding overlords (it will be like the co-op but with fewer hippies).
@captainpicard:
You should go work at Amazon or Newegg and teach them a thing or two.
But seriously, I would imagine this redesigned package has thinner walls to save plastic.
Remember when 2-liter bottles were thick clear plastic with those black thick bases? Packaging and plastics technology has advanced so much in the past 10 years that new bottles are stronger, lighter, and use less raw materials.
If it saves the company money, who’s to say they have to pay the savings directly on to consumers? This probably allows them to prevent price increases, or at least increase them less. In the name of efficiency, I think this is a great idea.
I have used these containers for a while now. I have to say that they suck to pour from. You have to think about how you pour, and sometimes you just want a bowl of cereal without having to stop and think, “Now tip it gently, pour slowly.” Is it really so much to ask for the regular shape and size? I have ended up with milk on the floor several times, and it’s just one more headache to deal with. If you haven’t used these containers, its easy to say, “you are an idiot if you can’t pour milk.” Just wait until you are forced to use them. Just WAIT…
Why when I look at that container I think Antifreeze…
Seriously, how hard can it really be to pour milk?
i like ‘em…no problem with the pour……
Oh wow, thank God we have Wal-Mart to bring us the milk jug OF THE FUTURE! I don’t know how we got along without it.
Whatever, this is a gimmick, and a poor one at that. People won’t buy it when they can’t even pour it, and they’ll go back to the old jugs.
@The Boy Wonder:
Cost savings do not have to be immediately passed to the consumer.
Companies should be trying to reduce costs to improve profits. If one company does it in an innovative way they should be rewarded. If other companies can do the same thing, they will usually lower costs to win business. This results in prices dropping to the lowest amount that suppliers are willing to accept… Basic economics 101.
If you don’t like the newer cartons, vote with your dollars and buy different milk. If their milk sales drop, they will either lower their price, or switch the carton back.
@captainpicard:
I take back my last comment; Sorry I jumped the gun on nitpicking… Thanks for a concise explanation from a logistics point of view on why this just makes sense!
@The Boy Wonder: Well, if you had passed physics or geometry, you’d know that the closer something is to a cube, the more volume you get for the surface area. Not to mention, they ship better, which equals less fuel burned per gallon of milk…admittedly, its not much, but better than nothing.
There’s a lot of excuses being made here for a very poor ergonomic design. There’s absolutely no reason the a good designer could not create a stackable milk container that is also very usable. I, too, stopped buying milk from Costco after they changed the container.
If your going to use the excuse of going green for packaging efficiency, there are a lot more wasteful containers than milk that ought to be replaced. Just think of any product that is designed to make you think you’re getting a lot (like the vitamin or Advil bottle that seems to have a small amount in the bottom of a large container), or products designed to take up a lot of shelf space to crowd out competitors.
I don’t go to those stores, but just looking at the picture only makes me think that there’s some really clumsy and/or dumb people out there.
Maybe the U.S. needs to start using things sold in many other countries like milk bags or the vacuum-sealed cartons that don’t need refridgeration as long as it’s unopened.
Imagine if only Wal-Mart did this….everyone would be flocking to Costco to buy pitchforks…
This a great win for the environment. Finally, the milk industry can throw out all those old, reusable milk containers, and switch to new, one use, disposable cardboard.
I am not really sure what the hype is over the milk carton. I purchase my milk at Costco and have found no issues with the new design in pouring my milk. It may not be the most aesthetic looking, but its a gallon of milk.
Its kind of like when Target redesigned their prescription bottles. No one liked them until they got use to them.
I’ve been using them for awhile. They are a pain to pour when you first open them. Yotu really don’t know where the milk is actually going to pour. I kind of like the idea, but the spout needs a little better engineering. Not much, but a little. My major issue with them is that it is way to hard to get the seal open. The tabs to grab are too short, and the glue too sticky.
When I first saw these new ‘Squares’ of Milk, I was excited at the shape and space/storage benefits.
But have to agree, sadly that the pouring experience is messy to say the least. Especially when kids’ hurried, ‘dont-have-time-to-drink-milk-gotta-get-back-to-my-Wii, are involved.
Even when pouring with the tilt-and-pour method (i did not need to be educated – I have dealt with enough lube jars!! ) there is that little trickle which runs down the spout edge. This then leaves either a pool of milk or a trail of milk spots!
These ‘Squares’ need getting used to and some additional habits, (like wiping the trickle or the pool). Not so good, when every second counts!
These really aren’t that hard, folks.
Take cup, place perpendicular to opening in top of jug, but under the lip of opening, then tilt both until the milk starts pouring into the cup. No muss, no fuss.
All it took was the first half poor and I figured it out… Didn’t really need lessons.
But I am willing to put up with that to save about a dollar a gallon which is about what the savings is for us.
@Juice Box Hero:
Juice Box, I’m with MickeyMoo on the French non-refrigerated milkboxes. UHT milk is nice to keep in the basement for an emergency, but it tastes gross. I don’t think it contains preservatives, though, I think it’s just the pasteurization process.
If they sold bags of milk, I’d buy them. That would drastically reduce the volume of trash I have to deal with, and I’m sure my opposable thumbs and I could figure out storing the snipped bag in a pitcher and pouring from it.