Green customers deliver a new future to milkies
MILKMEN are making a comeback to the streets of Greater Manchester - and it is all down to the Blue Planet effect.
Dairy firms are reporting a surge in sales since the David Attenborough TV series aired.
The programme showed a mother whale mourning her calf that died due to plastic poisoning and environmentally conscious shoppers are now switching to having their milk delivered in reusable glass bottles from the milkman - to cut down on their plastic consumption.
Creamline Dairies, which runs 120 milk rounds across the region, has seen 1,000 new customers sign up for milk deliveries between January and March this year.
We spoke to milkman Robert Arnold to find out about how traditional milk delivery is thriving in the region - and what it is like to work a busy milk round. Rob starts his shift whatever the weather.
He drives a traditional electric milk float, like the majority of the Creamline Dairies milkmen, which travels at speeds of 10-20mph.
“You do see some odd people about, usually at weekends, on Saturdays mostly,” Rob, 32, said.
“I once had three lads trying to play cricket with the milk bottles. They were aged about 18 to 19, they had got a cricket bat from somewhere. We do occasionally get some flack, people try to steal bottles.
“I used to do my own round in Salford. People used to stand on their doorsteps for five minutes and have a chat. When another guy took over he told me they were asking for me.
“The best thing about the job is getting home early, no rush hour traffic, and meeting people and being outside.
“I couldn’t work behind a desk or work nine to five. It is brilliant driving home from work and everyone else is going out to work. Everyone is stuck in traffic and I am going the other way home. It does get cold in the winter but you just keep going. If you don’t stop and freeze. You just have to layer up.
“I don’t drink milk on the job, I don’t really drink much milk to be honest. It is better quality than the milk you get in a supermarket, it tastes better out of the glass bottles”
Rob, a milkman for 12 years, has noticed the increase in customers over the last three months.
“I think it is people seeing it on the news and they want to have glass bottles”, he said. “We do all sorts of things now. We are like a mini supermarket.”
Creamline Dairies is the oldest milk delivery firm in the region, having been in operation for 70 years.
The business has expanded its offering since its early days, with dairy-free milk, kosher milk, milkshakes, fresh fish, meat and vegetables all available to deliver to front-door steps.
There are Creamline depots in Trafford Park, Cheetham Hill, Stockport and Warrington, meaning most postcodes in the region are covered.
Chris Swallow, joint managing director with Rob Purvis, said there are a number of ways using a milk delivery service is greener than buying plastic bottles from the supermarket. He said: “You get 40 uses from a glass bottle compared to just one plastic bottle. We have a lot of electric vehicles - better for the environment then diesel vehicles.
“All of our products and dairy farmers are within a 30-mile radius of the business. That is a low carbon footprint. We are also going to thousands of residents. This means they aren’t taking their cars to the supermarkets.”
Chris said the phones have not stopped ringing since January and sales have risen by 30 per cent, with 20pc of the new customers specifically asking for glass bottles.
“We have clearly seen a huge increase since Christmas and since the Blue Planet David Attenborough series”, he said. “I think most people including myself found it really shocking.
“Even though I have spent years shouting about recycling, I hadn’t realised the extent of the problem. As a result of that we have seen a massive increase in enquiries and customers.
“We have had over 1,000 customers register with us since Christmas.
“Around 200-300 people registered the previous year. In business terms, that’s pretty substantial. At the moment it looks like there is a demand.
“There is more interest in certain areas, such as places like Chorlton, areas where there are millennials, or people who care about the local area. But we do go within every street of a 10-mile radius of the M60 and North Cheshire. You can put order an order in by 5pm, it’ll be ready by 9am next day and you can use the postcode checker all online.”