Talk:Milk bag

Real?
Can anyone confirm the existence of milk bags? I live in Canada and I've never seen a milk bag. Chungy (talk) 23:38, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

Absolutely. I live in Toronto and you can get milk in bags in any grocery store. What you can't get are those big plastic jugs they sell in the States. Only option other than bags are cartons. CharlotteMR (talk) 19:36, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Yep. I live in BC, and while we no longer have milk bags (We use 4-liter HDPE jugs now), this article pretty much exactly describes the milk bags we had when I was a kid. 24.86.100.88 (talk) 19:57, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't doubt they exist, but I've never seen one anywhere in the UK. Certainly not common here. 86.7.20.47 (talk) 21:31, 14 February 2009 (UTC)


 * They have never been really common in the UK. I work in the industry, and would most certainly debate the resurgence in popularity. Since the advent of the Tetrabrik, the gable carton, and TBH the blow moulded plastic jugs and bottle, they have virtually disappeared. BTW, when I used to do microbial testing on the contents, they did not have very good results. Resealable screwtop bottles and jugs are much more hygeinic and have a longer shelf life...2.221.6.124 (talk) 23:40, 5 September 2013 (UTC)Lancetyrell

I grew up in Quebec, and now live in New Brunswick. Both areas sell milk in bags. I have always taken milk in bags for granted. I grew up with milk in bags. Only today am I discovering that this is an unusual thing that surprises some people. I thought everybody had milk in bags. Feeline (talk) 14:11, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

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Comic image
The comic-book style image on this page has the caption "Taken from a tourist leaflet, Toronto Pearson International Airport."

Lolhax0r, the uploader of the image, cites it as "self-created." How can it be from a tourist leaflet if it is a self-created image? Is this just a photoshopped image with a silly caption added? Copyvio problem? —Preceding unsigned comment added by It88 (talk • contribs) 00:44, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Durability?
This article is down right incorrect when it comes to the strength of milk bags. They are actually incredibly durable. While perhaps -slightly- more susceptible to puncture than a carton or jug, they are much more resilient when it comes to blunt force and drops (the kind of thing they are much more likely to experience). If you have them available in your area, try it. Throw it at a flat surface and try to get it to break (unless the surface is rough, like pavement you might actually find this impossible to do). Then take a carton or jug and drop it from counter top height and see how it fares in comparison. This is clearly just made up by the writer who is basing their information on personal beliefs rather than actual facts. Wouldn't be surprising if they had even lived in an area which uses milk in bags. The entire page needs to be rewritten by someone who actually knows what they are talking about. 99.225.114.29 (talk)

I agree with this. What is written here in the article very much reflects the views of someone who doesn't live in an area with milk bags. A former packaging design professor of mine was involved in the graphic design work for some of the early milk bags here in Canada. The first people that were shown the bags had a similar reaction: "It isn't as strong" (My former professor included). To win people over they did the very thing you've mentioned: Throw the bag as hard as they can against a wall. In fact, superior strength was one of the core reasons why they wanted to switch to bags. Other reasons not included in this article, but are also important: Shipping less air (A very important part of package design), shipping less weight (however, the new square milk jugs that get shipped crate-less will probably win that one) and cheaper/faster milk filling. If I can find some good sources, I'll be sure to come back and fix this article 68.179.102.105 (talk) 18:55, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

Durability?= ABSOLUTELY NO DURABILITY PROBLEMS with the bag. I have never heard, seen, or experienced any problems, or ever heard of bag milk being puncture, or any other durability problems with the bags IN CANADA. these things have been used in Canada since the 70's, if there were problems, they still wouldn't be using them. The bags are so strong that a thinner version of the milk bag was introduced in the 2000's and there are still no problems with them.Starbwoy (talk) 18:14, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Size
Here in Ontario, milk bags were introduced in a 1-quart (Imperial) size before metric conversion, then for a while they were the 1 L size mentioned in the article. But now they are 1⅓ L (one-and-a-third liters) and from memory I think this has been true since about 1980. The reason for the change to this size is that the sale of milk in stores here (whether in jugs, cartons, or bags) was standardized on powers of 2 (i.e. 250 ml, 500 ml, 1 L, 2 L, 4 L) but the package still contains 3 bags of milk, as it did before.

I have no idea whether this is just an Ontario quirk or applies in other parts of Canada or other countries, so I can't tell whether it should be mentioned in the article. I suppose if milk bags are used in the US then the most likely size would be 1 US quart.

--208.76.104.133 (talk) 07:27, 22 December 2008 (UTC)

I mentioned the size of the milk bag being 1.33 liters because Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes in Canada all use the size. USA doesn't really use the milk bag to my knowledge. (Bennyj600 (talk) 18:54, 24 March 2009 (UTC))


 * Here in Puerto Rico (which despite the opinion of YouTube, IS IN FACT a part of the US), fresh milk is sold in cardboard cartons and plastic bottles/jugs. BUT it is distributed to public and private schools in single-serve 250 ml plastic bags. Sings-With-Spirits (talk) 18:11, 17 September 2011 (UTC)


 * U.S. generally uses a 2 quart (1/2 gallon) size for retail sales of bagged milk. But bagged milk is not common. --66.41.154.0 (talk) 21:38, 19 September 2013 (UTC)

Two other notes
Here in Ontario, the outer package containing 3 milk bags is of lighter, not heavier, plastic than the milk bag itself.

With the bags and holders we have, the only way the bag might topple out of position when pouring is if it wasn't shaken down properly into the pitcher/holder before opening, and that's a mistake that's hard to make.

--208.76.104.133 (talk) 07:27, 22 December 2008 (UTC)

The above is so true. You have to smack the bottom of the milk pitcher to make sure the bag is in all the way. If it isn't you can have a mess as the bag will catch on the lip of the pitcher. I have never been able to understand why there isn't a hole in the bottom of the milk pitcher.Tempust (talk) 04:18, 27 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Agree about pitcher needing hole in the bottom. I had to drill one into the pitcher myself, otherwise the plastic bag would never settle correctly into the bottom. The bag sealed the air in the bottom of the pitcher so had no way of relieving the pressure as the bag slid down.  --66.41.154.0 (talk) 20:53, 19 September 2013 (UTC)

Slang
Would it be appropriate to note the slange usage? ChildofMidnight (talk) 02:50, 13 November 2009 (UTC)

Benefits section
Benefits information could use some citations. "Milk bags use less plastic than traditional milk jugs and are placed in reusable plastic pitchers." is an unsupported assertion. Plus, while milk jugs are generally recyclable, milk bags are not.

However, the part that states "The bags themselves can also be washed out and re-used to carry sandwiches, or to freeze food (using a twist tie or rubber band for closure). Because they are designed to be watertight, they are more durable than most commercially available sandwich bags." Sounds more like one person's habit/tip and is not necessarily worth noting in this article. CrocodilesAreForWimps (talk) 21:11, 25 April 2012 (UTC)

It is a fairly common practice in Ontario. Not a persons suggestion and the recycling guy takes them if you wash them first.Tempust (talk) 04:22, 27 July 2013 (UTC)


 * "...generally recyclable, milk bags are not" - is an unsupported assertion. An assertion that, according to the plastic milk bag in my fridge, false. Both plastic jugs and bags are made from the same type of plastic - LDPE. The dairy's cost of filling a bag is less than filling a carton, so bagged milk is generally a bit cheaper. (unmentioned benefit that would need a citation) --66.41.154.0 (talk) 21:29, 19 September 2013 (UTC)


 * I find that bagged milk is a lot cheaper. I said it is generally the largest format and has the lowest unit price. That shouldn't require a citation since it's general knowledge that larger packages have lower unit prices. (It would need a citation if it said that it was because it was cheaper for the dairy.) For people who like to re-use things, it's fairly common to use the outer bag to pack a lunch and the inner bags for individual food items. Roches (talk) 17:38, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

commercial milk bags
Twenty years ago at college, the milk in the dining halls came in monstrous bags that went into the dispensing machines. Assuming those are still in use, that should be covered in this article.Dismalscholar (talk) 18:57, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Expanded section on Canadian milk bags
I've added some information. There is only a citation to the Toronto Star and one to the company that makes the "Snippit" bag opener. These are extremely common in milk-bag land, although many of them end up making a ragged cut that results in milk splatter. I think most of it is at least somewhat relevant. It does specify what parts of Canada have bagged milk and which don't.

Roches (talk) 17:18, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Former Soviet Union
Someone marked it as dubious, and I have to agree. I'm from Estonia, and I don't remember milk bags being around pre-1991 at all. Milk was sold in glass bottles and sometimes cartons. The plastic bags were introduced in the mid-to-late 1990s. I can't speak for East Germany and other non-USSR Eastern bloc countries. Unigolyn (talk) 09:05, 9 July 2014 (UTC)

China
In early '90s in China milk bag was the only way milk was sold. Nowadays still exists, but more regular ways of packaging are more widespread, expecially in supermarket distribution. --147.162.48.1 (talk) 08:03, 23 July 2015 (UTC)

Australia
I was just doing some cleanup and noticed the following: Milk bags were also used in Australia (Greater Shepparton, Victoria), in the late 1990s, distributed by Shepparton-based dairy company Ducats. It's a rather minor point, and I can't add it to the article because I don't have a source other than my sister, but bags were used in New South Wales (to what extent I don't know!) in the 1970s. My sister lived in between 1974 & 1979 and during that time there was a period their milk was supplied in bags similar to what is shown in File:Milk Bag Plastic Pitcher.jpg, although the pitchers were blue. I only know of the use in that one suburb. At the time, milk bottles were still used in other areas. -- Aussie Legend  ( ✉ ) 07:06, 2 November 2015 (UTC)


 * I can confirm, as it was my local company, "Ducat's Dairy".   Ran for about 2 years, approx 1995-1997 but didn't get the traction within the market.   Some of the local milk bars still have the painted advertising (corner Knight St and High St) from the period.  1 litre plastic jugs were available to drop the bag into.
 * Ducat's Dairy is also the originator of "Mr D's Cola" that you may see in supermarkets. 202.91.193.57 (talk) 06:43, 11 March 2024 (UTC)