🫙 Carton
Also known as: milk carton, milk pouch
A film pouch (usually about 1 L) or a gable-top carton patented in 1915; the two are recycled in different ways.
A milk bag comes in two kinds: a soft film pouch and a cardboard gable-top carton. The pouch usually holds about a litre, and the milk is poured by snipping off a corner. The American John Van Wormer patented the carton in 1915. Both are lighter than a glass bottle and do not break.
Film pouches are common in many countries. According to Wikipedia, a typical pouch holds about 1 L in South America, Iran, Israel and continental Europe, 1⅓ L in Canada and 0.5 L in India. DuPont introduced them in Canada in 1967, in Israel they became the standard container in the 1960s, and in India an estimated 30% of milk is sold this way. To pour the milk, you snip off a corner and set the pouch in a jug.
The carton has a longer history. According to the Henry Ford Museum, John Van Wormer of Toledo, Ohio, filed applications for a "paper bottle" in 1912 and received patents in 1915; mass production of cartons with a spout began in 1937. The board was first coated with paraffin wax, and from 1966 with a thin polyethylene film that stops it from soaking through.
Why it matters to you. A carton does not break and does not need to be returned, but it is harder to recycle than glass: cardboard with polyethylene is not accepted everywhere, and film pouches are often not collected together with other plastic. Before throwing one away, ask your local waste service. Keep an opened carton cold, as with any milk.
Facts
| Raw material | Film pouch — plastic film; carton — cardboard with a wax or polyethylene layer 1 |
|---|---|
| Year founded | Van Wormer patents — 1915; film pouches in Canada — since 1967 1 |
| Main use | Packing liquid milk: usually about 1 L (Canada 1⅓ L, India 0.5 L) |
| Region | Film pouches: Canada, India, Israel, South America, some EU countries |
How it connects to milk
Links
- What is packed
- 🥛 Milk, 🧀 Monterey Jack, 🧀 Baked milk, 🧀 Wagasi, 🧀 Varenets, 🧶 Oaxaca cheese
- Where it is stored or sold
- 🏪 Shop
- Associated with
- 🥛 Milk
- Part of
- 🍼 Milk containers and tableware
- Wine and milk
- 🍷 Wine in carton
Frequently asked questions
Who invented the gable-top milk carton?
The American John Van Wormer of Toledo, Ohio: according to the Henry Ford Museum, he received patents in 1915 for the "paper bottle" and a folding carton, and mass production of cartons with a spout began in 1937.
How do you pour milk from a film pouch?
Set the pouch in a jug and snip off a corner. It usually holds about a litre, and in Canada 1⅓ L (Wikipedia).
Is it true that milk cartons are easy to recycle?
No. Cardboard with a polyethylene layer is hard to recycle and is not accepted everywhere, and film pouches are often not collected with other plastic. It depends on the city and the waste service.
In which countries are film pouches most common?
Wikipedia names, among others, parts of Canada (Ontario, Quebec, the Maritime provinces), India, Israel and the countries of South America; in the European Union such pouches exist in a few countries, for example Estonia.
How did waxed cardboard differ from the modern kind?
Early cartons were coated with paraffin wax, and from 1966 with synthetic polyethylene film, chosen to save money (Henry Ford Museum).
History
What to read next
- 🧀 Monterey Jack — An American semi-hard cheese from pasteurised cow’s milk, originally from California: under the US standard it has no more than 44% moisture and at least 50% fat in dry matter.
- 🍷 Wine in carton — Wine in a carton is wine sold in multilayer cardboard packaging, such as Tetra Pak, instead of a glass bottle.
- 🏪 Shop — Where milk is sold: chilled cases kept below 40 °F (≈4 °C); self-service was patented in 1916 by Clarence Saunders.
- 🧀 Baked milk — Ukrainian drinking milk kept for a long time at 95–99 °C, which gives it a cream colour and a caramel note; a separate type of milk under the Ukrainian standard DSTU 2661:2010.
- 🧀 Wagasi — A soft fresh cheese of the West African Fulani, made from cow's milk curdled with the sap of the Calotropis plant; most of it is produced in northern Benin.
Similar
🫗 Vacuum flask · 🫙 Tetra Pak · 🪣 Bucket · 🍼 Baby bottle · 🫙 Milk can · 🫙 Jug