Mother Dairy, a leading Indian milk brand, has introduced India's first naturally degradable milk pouch, a significant development in sustainable packaging for the dairy sector. This innovative polymer packaging, which will initially be used for their cow milk starting on World Environment Day, transforms into bioavailable wax that breaks down into natural elements within a few years due to soil microbes, leaving no microplastics or residue, unlike conventional plastics that persist for centuries. Developed over four years of research in collaboration with a European company and rigorously tested to international standards, this new pouch is designed to degrade naturally while remaining recyclable. Mother Dairy has committed to absorbing the increased input costs, ensuring no price hike for consumers, and plans to expand the use of this eco-friendly packaging to other products, aiming to address the environmental challenge of plastic waste in India, the world's largest milk producer.

Mother Dairy, a leading Indian milk brand, has introduced India's first naturally degradable milk pouch, a significant development in sustainable packaging for the dairy sector. This innovative polymer packaging, which will initially be used for their cow milk starting on World Environment Day, transforms into bioavailable wax that breaks down into natural elements within a few years due to soil microbes, leaving no microplastics or residue, unlike conventional plastics that persist for centuries. Developed over four years of research in collaboration with a European company and rigorously tested to international standards, this new pouch is designed to degrade naturally while remaining recyclable. Mother Dairy has committed to absorbing the increased input costs, ensuring no price hike for consumers, and plans to expand the use of this eco-friendly packaging to other products, aiming to address the environmental challenge of plastic waste in India, the world's largest milk producer.

Mother Dairy, a leading Indian milk brand, has introduced India's first naturally degradable milk pouch, a significant development in sustainable packaging for the dairy sector. This innovative polymer packaging, which will initially be used for their cow milk starting on World Environment Day, transforms into bioavailable wax that breaks down into natural elements within a few years due to soil microbes, leaving no microplastics or residue, unlike conventional plastics that persist for centuries. Developed over four years of research in collaboration with a European company and rigorously tested to international standards, this new pouch is designed to degrade naturally while remaining recyclable. Mother Dairy has committed to absorbing the increased input costs, ensuring no price hike for consumers, and plans to expand the use of this eco-friendly packaging to other products, aiming to address the environmental challenge of plastic waste in India, the world's largest milk producer.

Mother Dairy, one of the leading national milk and milk products brand, is trying to be Mother Earth-friendly. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)-owned brand, which is the leading milk retailer in many Indian cities, including the national capital region, unveiled on Tuesday what it called India’s first naturally degradable milk pouch.

To start with, its cow milk will come in freshly rebranded polymer packaging starting on Friday, which is also World Environment Day. Cow Milk forms 25 per cent of Mother Dairy’s milk sales (with buffalo milk more popular upcountry), and the plan is to scale the use of this packaging into more products soon, according to senior NDDB officials.

The naturally degradable milk pouch is different from previous offerings like recycled plastic or biodegradable plastic pouches (offered by Nandini in Karnataka). This plastic packaging is transformed into bioavailable wax, which is naturally broken down by microbes present in the soil and converted into natural elements within a span of a few years.

The material has been extensively tested in a NABL-accredited lab as per ISO, IS, and OECD standards for biodegradability, ecotoxicity, and heavy metal analysis. This formulation helps accelerate the pace of degradation through natural microbes present in the soil, bringing down the degradation timeline to a few years.

The company claims it leaves behind no microplastics or residue. Regular plastic takes hundreds of years to degrade, even while polluting the surroundings.

NDDB chairman Meenesh Shah said there will be no price hike to milk due to the new packaging and that the company is absorbing the input cost. “This transition is being undertaken without any impact on consumer milk prices,” he said, besides describing the new innovation as “yet another milestone reflecting the sector’s continued ability to lead and set new benchmarks, while remaining committed to a future-ready and sustainable ecosystem.”

Added Jayatheertha Chary, MD of Mother Dairy, “We undertook over four years of research to develop a naturally degradable milk pouch that leaves no trace of plastics in the environment. While these milk pouches will continue to remain recyclable, the key differentiator lies in their ability to degrade into natural elements, thereby helping address the challenge of fugitive plastic and contributing towards a cleaner ecosystem.”

The technology comes from a European research company. While Mother Dairy officials refused to reveal further details of the cost or royalty of the deal, various European countries have been adopting multiple measures to deal with dairy packaging in recent years. This ranges from bottles made from lactic acid, vegetable sugar and starch offered by a packaging company in Austria to water-soluble pellets and films used to make packaging for milk and water (which later dissolves). Researches have also spawned innovations like plant-based and milk-protein packaging films, which later break down in soil or seawater over a short period of time.

Sustainable packaging is a dire need for urban India, where burgeoning consumerism has led to single-use plastics clogging up streets and water sources, and not just dump yards. Especially so for milk, since India is the world’s largest producer of milk, with a production of 25 crore tonnes of milk last year.