Why are coloured lids on milk bottles are being replaced with clear caps?

You may have noticed that the carton of milk you have just picked up has a clear lid. Don't panic, this isn't an error and is in fact, part of a trial to help recycling. Here is what you need to know.

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If you've been wandering around the supermarkets recently, you may have noticed that some green, blue and red caps are no longer on the shelves.

This is because supermarkets are trailing a change in a bid to make recycling easier, with the likes of Sainsbury's and Waitrose being part of the trials.

And with the new lids already having been a success during trials, some retailers are opting to make it a permanent - despite it leaving some people confused about what type of milk they are picking up.

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Coloured milk caps are changing as whilst all of the tops are made from the same plastic, the coloured ones cannot be recycled back into food grade packaging.

By using white or clear milk bottle tops, businesses and consumers can reduce colour contamination in the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) stream.

HDPE has seen a surge in demand from businesses who are looking for more sustainable ways to become less dependent on packaging.

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Aldi launched a trial last year with Plastics and Packaging Director Richard Gorman saying: "By trialling clear milk caps we are making our milk bottles easier to recycle, so they can be turned back into new packaging."

Another budget supermarket, Lidl, also announced that they would be implementing similar with clear caps now replacing green caps which are used on their own branded semi-skimmed and organic fresh milk.

Scott Davey, Senior Buying Director at Lidl said: "We remain committed to supporting our customers in helping them make more sustainable shopping decisions on a daily basis. Customer feedback during the trial was overwhelmingly positive and we are thrilled to be making this change permanent across Lidl stores.

"In addition, this move will help us achieve our goal of making more of the plastic we use circular and fit to be repurposed time and time again."

Despite some people being confused by the cap colours changing, people are being reminded that whilst the caps will change, the labels will remain the same making it easy to spot.