Milk & More, the UK’s largest doorstep dairy delivery service, has been working towards securing the future of the British milkman as it is set to become the largest operator of electric vehicles in the UK. The company has announced that it is rolling out 160 new environmentally-friendly electric delivery vehicles. It takes the firm’s fleet to just over 500 by May 2019.

Powered by rechargeable batteries, the new vehicles have a range of up to 125 miles, which is handy as the fleet will travel over 14 million miles a year. The new fleet will save 3.4 million litres of diesel a year compared to the old milk floats. In addition, noise reduction is also a key customer benefit, which is important as most deliveries take place before 7:00am.

Milk & More now sells the vast majority of its milk in one-pint glass bottles. The business has also replaced the 1.75 million plastic bags it uses every year with paper bags and has a sustainable option for wet mornings.

The business is also working to improve the average number of times its glass milk bottles are reused from 25 to 30.

Changes to the Milk & More product range, which includes 200 items of food, drink, as well as a new range of eco-friendly household products, also mean that 97% of all the volume sold is in packaging that fits the circular economy – packaging that is reusable, recyclable or compostable.

“We are transforming the great British milkman into a modern, convenient delivery service which has a sustainable, environmentally friendly proposition at its heart. We are continually looking to reduce our environmental footprint, so customers can be assured that they are buying into a business that is fully committed to a sustainable circular economy,” said Andrew Kendall, deputy chief executive for Milk & More.