I wonder how that works – what happens with the plastic and aluminium layers? It’s not just cardboard in there.

And even if the carton were 100% cardboard – obviously that wouldn’t work for liquids! – you wouldn’t put it into compost! Pure cardboard goes into paper recycling, for new paper/ cardboard products.

“I do remember messing up the carton though and not being able to form a strong spout”

As has been pointed out, the manufacturer of the carton has to deliberately design the carton to be opened as spout. If the carton is designed for the screw-top instead, the layers won’t seperate well to form a spout. (While not half-and-half, but normal milk, I have opened a lot of cartons both with screw-tops and without, and there’s an obvious difference in forming a spout.)

“you must have come across in your research the new screw top which remains attached to the collar of the container by a plastic ‘lash’”

Yes, the new EU law for all plastic caps, because single caps getting lost added up quickly to tons of plastic littering all over the place instead of being collected for easy recyling via the bottle deposits.

So now they are required to be attached so the caps can be returned with the bottles. It was really weird watching from EU as the Brexiters lost their shit about how they were unable to deal with the caps…

for people with reduced hand strength (like seniors), opening the screw top is easier than doing the traditional fold-out.

And yes, screwing the top closed makes it easier to transport (still not fool-proof) than the older fold-out.

Also: the “carton” (usually called a tetrapack) has at least 3 layers, often five: one layer of cardboard, one aluminum for food safety (you can see the silver surface when you glance inside), one layer plastic to make liquid-proof.

So even without the plastic lid, tetrapacks are notorious for being almost impossible to recycle. Yes, the industry which produces tetrapacks does full-page ads about how “enviromental-friendly” they are because of cardboard, but they are lying.
There have been attempts to wash out the cardboard fibers and re-use them, but in order to work = be liquid-proof, the layers must be fused together, which means they are almost impossible to seperate afterwards.

One of the German enviromental organisations (BUND) did a study ca 20 years ago, looking at all enviromental costs, and concluded that re-usable glass bottles (with deposit and standardised) were only better for local use, that is, maximum of 100 km transport from filling place to supermarket.
For longer distances, tetrapacks were better, because the weight the truck had to transport would cause less CO2 emissions.

“We sure are lucky that the recipe for half-and-half is what it is because if it wasn’t, we might find ourselves asking for two-sevenths and five-sevenths, or thirty-two percent and sixty-eight percent, or some such clumsy phrase.”

To my knowledge, no one has ever laughed at it and I don’t expect that to change here in this forum.

Love your writing. Been enjoying it since back in the Salon days. Cured myself of flight anxiety with your words.

Anyway, the screw top package has the advantage that it’s resealable. And the disadvantage that the first pour can catch you by surprise. Milk seems to last longer in the fridge when you can reseal the package. My advice is to get used to them, because, like those mail sorting machines during the previous administration, the machines that made the old style cartons are now perhaps brake cylinders or front fenders.

Keep us plugged in .

We’d also enjoy your visit if convenient. Jason and his family are very active. His daughter Bradyn (12 yo)was recruited for the US Olympic Development team. She’s working hard.

Stay safe and healthy.

Aunt Janet

The sadistic SOB who invented the plastic screw top should be taken out back and shot with a bullet made of frozen sour milk!  I struggle to no end to get those caps on and off.