ANSWER: Plastic milk jugs are, in fact, made of the same recyclable plastic as used in redeemable water and juice jugs and are essentially exactly the same, aside from what kind of liquid is put in them. These milk jugs are not, however, a part of the container deposit legislation in Maine.

There are 10 states that currently participate in return-for-deposit type programs, and none of those states list milk containers in their deposit-redeemable programs. The programs that are, among other reasons, designed to encourage recycling, require a consumer to pay a bottle deposit at the time of purchase (in Maine its 5 cents on most beverage cans and bottles and 15 cents on hard alcohol or wine bottles). Redeemable containers are classified as “one-way” beverage containers, which is a term that was coined in the 1930s when manufacturers began to market individual bottled drinks to consumers who would drink and then discard the containers — an action that resulted in littering or adding to overburdened landfills. When the consumer returns the containers to a redemption center, then he or she can recoup those deposits. Since you don’t pay a deposit on milk jugs, you cannot return them for deposits.

The reason(s) milk jugs are excluded from these deposit programs likely was discussed at length on the floor of the Legislature, or at least by the committee reviewing the bill way back when. However, that information isn’t easy to come by today. Some speculate that because milk is considered a necessary food item, rather than soda or beer, for instance, any increase in its cost might be prohibitive to poorer consumers being able to afford the product.

Some Canadian provinces with similar redeemables programs have started to include milk containers in recent years, so it will be interesting to see if any U.S. states follow suit. Also, more locally, if you purchase milk from some farms who sell delicious, fresh milk in glass bottles — like Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook, which is even available in some local grocery stores — then they will sometimes offer return deposits on those bottles. When you return the bottles to the farm or to a participating redemption facility,  return your deposit and the bottles are cleaned and refilled. Plus, Sun Spots is pretty sure that milk in glass bottles just tastes better.

One final note to make in this lengthy response: Just because plastic milk jugs are not redeemable for cash returns of deposits, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t recycle them. Many towns now have recycle programs and milk jugs are usually a No. 2 plastic, which is accepted at most of those programs.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: The Rock House Teen Center on Webber Brook Road in Oxford closed its doors for Friday night ministries on May 13 due to a lack of funding and volunteers. They would like to open as soon as possible. Adults willing to volunteer can call 595-4722, 743-0333 or 743-6500.  — No Name, Oxford.

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