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Kōrero: Household services

Putting the milk bottles out

Putting the milk bottles out

Milk was delivered to houses in New Zealand cities and towns until the mid-1990s, when it gradually stopped. Putting the milk bottles out – in the specially designed holder that most families would have owned – was often one of a child’s household duties. Glass milk bottles were replaced by cartons from the late 1980s.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: EP/1972/4113/12A

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Jane Tolerton, Household services – Home deliveries, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/21797/putting-the-milk-bottles-out (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Jane Tolerton, i tāngia i te 25 November 2009.

Comments

Heather McNair
03 August 2016
A system where glass milk bottles can be reused should be made available to the public of New Zealand again. It should never have been discontinued. Chemicals in plastics leach into food and drink. Reusing glass is better for the environment and costs less than other sources over time. That's why it's been used for over 5,000 years. Good government means ensuring people have a choice and not forcing them to pollute the environment and themselves due unavailability.