It is heart-rending to see animals, including cows, goats and pigs, chewing on empty plastic bags previously used to carry fresh milk. One of the biggest quantum of waste in terms of volume is discarded empty plastic bags in which milk was previously packaged and delivered. In foreign countries, milk is delivered in hard plastic containers which are also recyclable. Since these containers are made of hard plastic, animals will not want to chew on them.
Milk is sold in plastic bags for cost reasons. India is a cost-conscientious market. But I wonder whether plastic bags in which we get our milk are food-grade quality. Food grade plastic containers never have residual industrial chemicals. But ordinary plastic packets and bottles contain Polyvinyl Chloride PVC dioxins, phthalates, ethylene dichloride and other toxic chemicals. The unsuspecting animals like cows eat the packets and the toxins end up in their bodies. Also, the problem of microplastics in water could be a reality because of the sheer volume of plastics used in our day-to-day life.
