When I was a child we had milk delivered in glass bottles to our front door. The milkman would come each morning, collect the empty bottles we left out, and deliver new full bottles of milk. It was a wonderful system that sadly became unpopular when I was still little.
Today, for the first time in a very long time we had milk delivered to our font door in glass bottles. The milkman is back in fashion and he (or she) has moved with the times and now delivers plant-based milk too. I’m not sure what time the milk arrived but I woke up at 6:20am and found this outside the door.
The oat milk is made in the UK from British-grown oats by Oato. I had it in my cup of tea this morning and also drank a bit neat: it’s delicious. Thick, creamy, and nutritious. It was delivered by Dundee-based Kerr’s Dairy who have been delivering milk in Scotland since 1900.
You can also get these reusable caps for the open bottles in the fridge.
This makes me so happy. One of the reasons I tried making my own milk for a time last year was because I didn’t want to continue creating milk carton waste. Yes, we were putting the cartons in the recycling bin but it’s better not to throw anything out at all and there are questions around the sustainability of how and what we recycle. With the traditional milkman system, glass bottles are collected with each new delivery so nothing ends up in a recycling bin at all.
One of the things I remember about milk deliveries as a child living in hot and humid Brisbane was if we didn’t bring the milk in right away and put it in the fridge it would go sour. This isn’t such a problem with plant-based milks which have a longer use-by date. It’s also fridge temperature outside in Aberdeen for much of the year 🙂 Another great reason to embrace the future and make the shift to plants.
rachel.blog 
It’s nice! Thank you for the post 😊
That sounds so great! I wish we had something similar here, after all Christchurch is either a similar size, or bigger, than Aberdeen, so no reason why it couldn’t be done. Just need someone keen 😊 There is a NZ oat milk now called Otis, but I haven’t tried it. I keep meaning to, though – this is a good reminder 😊
NZ has a similar climate to the UK and I imagine it would be similarly good for growing oats so it makes sense to produce it locally. Perhaps there’s a business opportunity for a milkman to start up delivering?
It’s good to be able to support this business, and have oat milk at the same time.
Yes I can feel virtuous 🙂 for not only reducing waste but supporting local businesses.
That’s brilliant. My favourite is Coconut Milk. Do they do that one too?
I don’t think so. Not yet anyway! I’m sure this is an area that will expand over time so they may offer it in future.
I’m jealous of this service! I remember in the UK when I was a kid, the next door neighbour would always get their milk from the milkman until the service stopped. I never really got to use the service myself, but I’d definitely like to now 🙂 Very nice to see them getting with the times with plant-based milk too!