Science Scene - Papier Mache Milk Bottle

Since the average plastic bottle takes 500 years to decompose, more solutions to this rapidly growing landfill crisis are needed, quickly.


An English inventor has come up with a sturdy papier-mache bottle that can be recycled or composted. Local Suffolk dairies are trying it out and now Asda (Walmart) is putting it in some of their stores. So how does it work...

The GreenBottle is made out of papier-mache and has a plastic liner inside to keep the milk fresh. The paper outer shell is compostable and biodegradable. It will break down naturally when disposed of on a compost heap and can be recycled up to seven times. On the compost heap, it will only take a few weeks to decompose.


The inner liner is made of recycled plastic. It can be recycled along with other plastics in the weekly recycling collection. It takes up less than 0.5% of the space of a plastic bottle if dumped in a landfill.


The GreenBottle consumes a third of the energy used to make a plastic bottle and has a carbon footprint that is 48% lower than plastic.


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