Fleurieu Milk tap a first for Blackwood
City of Mitcham residents can now tap into sustainable milk supply at The Italian Kitchen Bar in Blackwood.
The café has installed a Fleurieu Milk tap, a system that provides farm fresh milk on tap to reduce plastic waste.
Residents can purchase a refillable one-litre glass bottle at the café, have it filled, wash it at home and return it for refills. Each bottle has a QR code and sticker with use by dates.
As well as making it easier for locals to source locally produced milk, the café is also set to reduce its plastic use by tapping 18-litre milk kegs for their coffees.
Empty kegs are returned to Fleurieu Milk for cleaning and reuse. Each keg replaces nine two-litre plastic bottles and over its lifetime has the potential to eliminate 7,000 single-use bottles, preventing around 300kg of plastic waste.
Café owner Priti Tati said she and her husband Satish, who took over the business in March this year, wanted to reduce waste at the café.
“We were going through a lot of packaging, not just plastic but cardboard; our bins were full every day,” she said. “We knew it would be well received by the community – we have some regulars who are currently going to the farmer’s market to get milk and they’re very happy about it.”
City of Mitcham Mayor Dr Heather Holmes-Ross said the tap was a welcome addition and likely to be embraced by residents.
“This initiative supports the City’s broader goals of reducing emissions, minimising waste and transitioning towards a more circular local economy.”
Fleurieu Milk taps are available at the Adelaide Showground Farmers’ Market, Adelaide Central Market, selected Drakes supermarkets and a growing list of suppliers across Adelaide.
The Fleurieu Milk tap initiative is supported by City of Mitcham.