Ayer’s Cliff milk company hits major milestone
La Pinte, a milk company that produces quality jersey milk in the Eastern Townships, opened
its doors five years ago, and in that time, it has recovered and reused more than one million glass bottles, saving them from being dropped into a recycling bin or trash can.
“It’s something nice to know for the customer because they buy one or two bottles a week, but they don’t necessarily understand the bigger
picture,” said La Pinte co-owner Remi Ducharme.
When Ducharme and his business partner Pascal Valade were brainstorming ideas, they decided to bring back bottled milk, which has long since disappeared in Quebec. They were inspired by milk companies that run a similar concept in Ontario and New England.
According to Ducharme, a glass bottle can be reused up to 30 times before losing its integrity, as long as it is sufficiently cleaned and disinfected. He told The Record that they are able to wash, sanitize, and re-bottle milk in-house at their facility in Ayer’s Cliff.
“If you use the glass bottle and put it in the recycling bin, it makes no sense because it’s a heavy material,” said Ducharme. “But if you use the glass bottle and you have the facility to retake those bottles, wash them, sanitize them, it’s something very interesting for the environment.”
Ducharme explained that when the company was established in 2016, he and Valade were skeptical as to whether Quebecers would be willing to buy in to their philosophy. However, they knew that people were becoming more environmentally conscious.
“The thing we didn’t know at the time was if the people in Quebec were ready for that kind of product because we know it’s a much bigger effort for customers, you know, to rinse the bottle, bring them back to the point of sale, so we didn’t know if it was going to work,” he said.
They were surprised when their bottled milk started to take off. They realized they had struck a chord with consumers seeking to reduce their ecological footprint. The quality of milk is also different in a bottle, he said, it stays fresh, compared cartons or bagged products.
“It means a lot more work, you know, it’s not easy to retake the bottles and manage all that,” said Ducharme. “It’s something else, it’s a complicated thing, it’s not an easy thing to do, but we believe it’s the right thing to do.”
The process doesn’t work, though, unless customers completely commit to returning La Pinte bottles back to their point of sale, like an IGA, Metro or Provigo. However, he told The Record that more than 80 per cent of their bottles come back to their facility.
There is also a contingency plan for when a glass bottle accidentally shatters during transportation. Ducharme said they collect the broken bottles at their facility and ship it to a trusted recycling company in Montreal’s South Shore.
They also collect any of their bottles that have been left on the shelf for too long. But instead of throwing away the milk, Ducharme said it is quickly given to two organizations in the Eastern Townships to give their products a second life before it expires.
“We make sure to take the milk that’s unsold before the [expiration] date and we bring those bottles to La Grande Table in Sherbrooke and Cépop in Magog, so those organizations can cook with the milk and add value to a milk that’s approaching the end of its life,” said Ducharme.
Cépop is a non-profit organization that promotes “the social integration and employability of individuals through work-based training in ecological urban agriculture and food services.” La Grande Table provides hot meals to families and children in need.
Ducharme acknowledged that some of La Pinte’s customers are likely purchasing their milk out of nostalgia. But for the most part, he said, people in the region want to something local, something they can understand, and something that uses responsible packaging.
The past five years have flown by, Ducharme continued. He remembers purchasing their facility, which used to be an old bowling alley, like it was yesterday. It has been a humbling experience, he said, but people have been supportive since day one.
“I’m very proud to be part of that kind of initiative and I’m pretty happy that we have employees and people around us that are there for us and they make a big difference for us,” said Ducharme.