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John,

Before plastic took over, trips to the grocery store were a lot less wasteful.

These days, plastic is touted as the modern, sanitary packaging material. But we used to safely bring food home from the store without also taking home a pile of plastic.

Let's take a look at some foods and beverages that were once purchased without plastic:

Milk didn't always come in polyethylene jugs. In fact, the gentle clinking of glass bottles on the doorstep once signaled that the week's milk order had arrived.

Although farmers began peddling milk to households as far back as the 19th century via horse-drawn wagon, milk delivery became more sophisticated in the 1900s when milkmen placed deliveries in insulated metal boxes on customers' doorsteps.[1] Customers were encouraged to return their empty bottles back in the box to be washed, refilled and reused.

Paper milk cartons came next. While some of the first cartons were likely dipped in wax to prevent sogginess -- and some manufacturers still sell milk in paper cartons today -- modern cartons are likely coated with a thin layer of polyethylene plastic.[2]

We also purchased common grocery staples without plastic. Cheesemakers wrapped their wares in strips of muslin and, later, wax.[3] Butchers sliced meat and sold it by weight, wrapping it in paper before handing it over to customers. Manufacturers made sour cream available in waxed paper containers.[4] Yogurt was originally sold in glass containers and, later, paper cups.[5]

Even bread was plastic-free. Whereas today's pre-sliced sandwich bread is almost always wrapped in plastic, storing bread in brown paper bags allowed for air circulation and kept crusts crisp.[6]

Many of us remember a time when grocery stores sold fruits and vegetables without pesky plastic. Bananas, melons and other items with natural packaging were sold as-is. Grocers utilized cardboard containers for delicate produce such as berries and peaches -- and some grocers still do.

But today, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find produce that isn't wrapped in plastic. Salad greens are stuffed into plastic boxes. Bulk apples are only available for purchase in a plastic bag. Plastic film now encases cucumbers, peppers and countless other items in the produce aisle.

We're paying the price for all this plastic.

Very little of the plastic packaging and containers we're forced to take home from the supermarket actually get recycled, and less than 10% of all plastics are made with recycled materials.[7] The plastic that doesn't get recycled becomes trash, and it can remain on Earth as pollution for centuries to come.[8]

That's why PIRG is tackling plastic pollution with a multi-pronged approach. We're campaigning for more transparency around plastic recycling, urging companies to commit to reducing unnecessary plastic packaging and educating more Americans about plastic's risks.

Thank you,

Faye Park
President

P.S. You can help contribute to a future that's free of plastic pollution by donating today.
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1. Steve Taylor, "A Look Back: Home-delivered milk once was the standard in the Upper Valley and beyond," Valley News, June 2, 2025.
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2. Brian Palmer, "Disoriented in the Dairy Aisle," Slate, March 1, 2011.
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3. "History of Cheese, Part 3: Packaging," Cheese Grotto, Aug. 4, 2020.
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4. Alan Rothman, "Before Plastic: A Trip Down Memory Lane," The Gardiner Gazette, last accessed Nov, 18,2025.
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5. Aryana Kayanush and Douglas Olson, "A 100-Year review: Yogurt and other cultured dairy products," Journal of Dairy Science, December 2017.
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6. Morgan Cutolo, "This Is the Real Reason Supermarkets Sell Bread in Brown Bags," Reader's Digest, Nov. 2, 2022.
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7. Sandra Laville, "Just 9.5% of plastic made in 2022 used recycled material, study shows," The Guardian, April 10, 2025.
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8. "In Images: Plastic is Forever," United Nations Exhibits, last accessed Nov. 5, 2025.
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