Milk can be held in either plastic or paper cartons. These materials are solid and durable and have the ability to be used repeatedly. Instead of throwing these precious resources in the trash or recycling bin, consider some of the ways they can be re-used. Taking a minute to peruse Pinterest and you will see milk cartons used for a variety of projects.
The same can be said for plastic cartons. Gardner’s love them as they can be used as plant covers creating miniature green houses protecting plants from the elements. Some fun users found they can be used to make masks, and even flash diffuser for DSLR & SLR cameras.
Milk wasn’t always stored in paper or plastic containers. Many remember milk being delivered in glass jars. How did milk go from glass to reusable containers? It was all thanks to a man named John Van Wormer, a toy manufacturer from Toledo, Ohio. One morning, he dropped and shattered a glass jar of milk on the floor. Thus began his long journey of finding a better solution for storing milk.
Van Wormer took out a patent in 1915 for his new product. He called it “Pure-Pak,” because the container could be thrown away after one use. It took all of ten years for Van Wormer to perfect a machine capable of making the containers.
Even then the struggle was not over, for most Americans were very attached to milk in bottles. But time, and a steady increase in the cost of glass, worked in Van Wormer’s favor. Soon many other companies were making their own paper milk cartons, and by 1950, Van Wormer’s company was producing them at the rate of 20,000,000 a day.
To learn more about the history of milk, check out: http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/milkcarton.htm
