Editor:
Don’t you love the new “labour-saving” addition to Dairyland cardboard cartons? Now, instead of having to go through the arduous process of tearing open one end of the carton’s gabled top to create a pour spout – a process of at least three seconds – you simply twist off the handy plastic cap, grab the ring and peel out the hygienic plastic seal and pour your milk or cream through the circular plastic grommet glued into the side. It’s not only easier, it’s also more hygienic, apparently.
What used to be waxed cardboard cartons in the olden days are now bleached paperboard cartons coated with a film of polyethylene plastic on both the inner and outer surfaces. There’s already so much plastic in the cartons anyway, what’s a little more? And the printing on the cartons themselves assures us that this new iteration is recyclable “where facilities exist.” But is it my imagination, or am I seeing more of those handy plastic caps and hygienic plastic seals on the local beaches?
Claire Finlayson, Gibsons
