Independent coffee roaster Emporio Coffee is the first of 10 cafes nationwide to trial the milk tap system that Fonterra has been working on for the past year.
The milk tap, sourced from Israeli company Milkit, is connected to a 10-litre recyclable milk bladder in a fridge. The bladders, made at Fonterra’s Palmerston North factory, replace five 2-litre standard bottles of milk, resulting in 65 per cent less plastic.
Under chief executive Miles Hurrell, Fonterra is investing $1 billion in sustainability initiatives over the next decade as part of its strategy to be a leader in sustainability. The co-operative is the largest supplier of milk to cafes across the country, and if the trial is successful the initiative could be rolled out to many of its 2500 cafe customers.
The trial follows several local initiatives by smaller companies such as Kaipaki Dairies near Hamilton and Spout in Christchurch which supply milk in reusable kegs to cafes.
Eric Heycoop, the co-founder of Emporio Coffee with his wife Miriam, said he was pleased to see the end of bins full of empty 2- litre milk bottles, having previously used about 45 bottles a week.
“There’s always got to be a better way,” he said. “It’s such a good easy system and it makes sense. When you look at the bin now, it’s empty, there’s nothing filling it up.”
Heycoop said the bladder system may also enable him to reduce his daily milk deliveries to three days a week, lowering the environmental impact of transport.
“Every little thing we can do, we will do,” he said.
Emporio uses Ecoware takeaway cups and lids, and compostable packaging for its 2kg coffee bags. It is working on shifting to compostable packaging for its smaller 500g coffee bags and is planning to transition to electric delivery vehicles.
