The white stuff: Consumers 'frothing' over udderly awesome milk on tap

South Coast milk lovers are making tracks to Nowra where fresh, creamy Jersey milk is now available on tap!

Fresh food store, Bomo Bulk, is one of the first outlets in NSW able to offer milk on tap to consumers using an innovative system developed by The Udder Way in Tasmania.

Jersey milk from Tilba Dairy is delivered to Bomo Bulk in two 18-L milk kegs and customers can purchase glass bottles which can be refilled from the store.

Bomo Bulk owner Jessica Bromley says, following the first delivery in August, Shoalhaven residents have been able to enjoy “the best Jersey milk NSW has to offer” fresh from the tap.

Jessica said it was only natural for them to be one of the first to offer a milk refill station, being a “one-stop shop for all things waste free and natural”.

“You can purchase a glass milk bottle, then refill it with Tilba Dairy’s milk over and over again, without ever having to recycle a plastic milk jug ever again,” she said.

“This will easily reduce 72 individual plastic jugs in these first weeks, but as more and more people switch over, it can reach a potential 432 per week. That’s 22,464 a year.”

Jessica has tried getting milk on tap since Bomo Bulk opened its doors two years ago.

“At the time, the only systems available were from the USA and cost a fortune,” she said.

“I put it on the back burner, then a year ago when I found out about The Udder Way in Tasmania and their new patent system, I contacted them right away.

“We were both excited to work together to make this happen but were quickly faced with an issue of there being no milk being processed in this region to be able to use the refill keg system. Again, the project went on the back burner.”

A few weeks ago Jessica was contacted by The Udder Way after they had finished setting up their keg system with Tilba Dairy, located three hours south at Tilba, and were ready to start installing milk taps.

“I immediately said yes and we booked a date for installation,” Jessica said.

“So get ready Nowra to be proud to say, ‘We did it first’ and led the way to a more sustainable cost-effective way of living.”

The reusable kegs are filled with pasturised milk at the dairy and delivered to Bomo Bulk, where Jessica has 500 ml and 1 L bottles available to purchase.

“You can refill them again and again and again,” she said.

Charlie Tindall from The Udder Way says the sale of milk products is heavily regulated.

“In terms of plastic waste, milk with its strict regulations, has always been one you couldn’t avoid unless paying much higher prices for glass bottled versions, which were hard to find anyway,” he explained.

“Now the extra costs associated with bottling milk in glass has been removed, with the option of bottle reuse, you’re now only having to pay for the milk.”

Bomo Bulk began among a community of neighbours in Bomaderry, who came together to share ideas, garden produce and a lending hand whenever needed.

Located at 2/62 North St, Nowra, Bomo Bulk opened in August 2021 and has continued to grow into a flourishing community of like-minded people across the South Coast who want to eat well, waste less and share more.

The Udder Way is a reusable primary packaging manufacturer that produces high quality reusable plastics in the form of 18-L LDPE kegs and dispensing systems that offer a solution to plastic pollution generated by the dairy industry.

The products and systems are food safe, certified by HACCP International and provide the user with workflow efficiencies and other operational benefits that are not available with conventional single-use plastics.

Located in historic Tilba, Tilba Dairy is owned by Nic and Erica Dibden whose pure Jersey herds produce delicious, wholesome Tilba milk, cream, cheese, yogurt and artisan Jersey dairy products.

Jersey milk Milk on tap will also be available at Empower Wholefoods in Ulladulla from 1 September.