Punjab is all set to go the milky way without plastic bags. For, the Punjab Government is working on the proposal to bring the milk dispensing vans, instead of the supplying milk in plastic bags.

The move is expected to save approximately 80 crore plastic bags, used by the Punjab State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Limited, popularly known as Milkfed, for the sale of milk and milk products.

“Introducing milk dispending vans is under the consideration of the government, and it is expected to be implemented soon,” said the state Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu while responding to the query of Congress MLA from Jalandhar North Avtar Singh Henry Junior during the question hour.

Sidhu, responding on behalf of the state Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, said that as per the statistics available with the state Animal Husbandry director, a total of 1,25,988.1 lakh litres of milk was processed in the organized sector in 2018-19, and state milk cooperative, Milkfed, procured or processed 5,991.7 lakh litres of milk in 2018-19.

The Minister further informed that Milkfed alone used approximately 80 crore plastic bags in a year for which 1,803.79 million tones of plastic film is used.

Dubbing the use of 80 crore plastic bags as a “major source of pollution”, Henry suggested that milk vending or dispensing vans, like the one being run by the dairy co-operative Mother Dairy in Delhi and national capital region (NCR), in Punjab to check the plastic use.

Responding, Sidhu said that milk vending machines are under active consideration and it may be implemented soon.

Notably, Mother Dairy has been selling loose milk since 2012 in different parts of Delhi and NCR through eco-friendly vans called ‘Kamdhenu’, saving 2,100 tonnes of plastic every year.

The vans, which are modern and eco-friendly carrying homogenized toned milk in loose form, has been placed at different locations in Delhi-NCR covering even the remotest corners. The vans, which runs on CNG, brings safe, hygienic milk to the consumers’ doorstep.

A wholly owned company of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Mother Dairy markets and sells milk and milk products under the Mother Dairy brand.