Dairy processor Muller and Waitrose will trial to scrap the blue, green and red caps used on milk bottles, replacing them with clear caps.
The move could boost the availability of rHDPE - a plastic made from recycled High Density Polythene - on the market by 1560 tonnes per annum, according to the two firms.
Unlike fully recyclable plastic milk bottles, coloured milk caps cannot currently be recycled back into food grade packaging.
Muller and Waitrose say that introducing clear caps enables retention of the material for reuse within the food sector.
With higher demand for rHDPE than supply, by keeping the material within a ‘closed loop’ system, there can be more rHDPE available on the market, they explain, further reducing dependency on ‘virgin’ plastic.
Research by Muller, which buys a fifth of all milk produced on British farms, shows that consumers support the change, if it further improves the availability of food grade recycled plastic material.
The processor found that just over half of all shoppers look for the colour of milk caps when selecting their milk in store, while others either use the different coloured labels, remember the previous location in the fridge or use the fixture signage.
But eight out of ten shoppers said, given the choice, that they would choose a bottle of milk which used a clear milk cap which could be recycled into food grade material, over a coloured one that could not.
Following years of collaboration with Waitrose and a successful in-house trial, Muller is further partnering with the supermarket to trial in all 331 of its shops, from 4 – 30 April 2022.
Liam McNamara, commercial director at Muller Milk & Ingredients, said the dairy processor was the first in the UK to trial clear caps on fresh milk.
"We are working hard to innovate and lead in issues that are not only important for customers, but for consumers too," he added.
“In an industry that needs access to more rHDPE, we are really excited to collaborate with Waitrose across all of their shops and trial this additional solution.
"Our fresh milk bottles already contain up to 40% recycled material, but with access to more, we can partner with our customers to increase this further."
