Have you seen this orange milk crate? If so, Umpqua Dairy needs it back.
Umpqua Dairy Products, Co. operates as the largest independent dairy in southern Oregon. The company is on a mission to reduce, reuse and recycle its orange milk crates – but a lot of them are missing.
Umpqua Dairy does not sell or give away its orange milk crates. So, if you have one, it was stolen or sold illegally.
Theft* of milk crates is an issue taken very seriously by the dairy industry. Dairy companies lose 20 million milk crates a year to theft. At $4 a crate, that equals $80 million in losses per year.
“We are asking for your help to get the word out and return them,” according to an Umpqua press release. “We need to reduce our overhead costs and be able to recycle and sanitize our crates for reuse in their intended purpose as the proper storage and safe transportation of Umpqua Dairy products. But, when they are stolen, it creates a financial and production burden for us, we spend tens of thousands of dollars each year to replace these milk crates. This needless expense affects the cost of goods, employee jobs and yes, ultimately the price of milk.”
Umpqua is asking for the return of any wayward milk crates, no questions asked. To find a local Umpqua dairy office, visit umpquadairy.com. If you have any information about missing milk crates, contact Chuck Fuller, Transportation Manager at Umpqua Dairy at 541-672-2638 ext. 120.
For more information about milk crate theft in the area, click here.
*Theft of milk crates is part of the Criminal Code of Oregon; Theft in the Second Degree, and is punishable by a maximum of one year in the county jail or a maximum fine of $2,500, or both. ORS 164.015(1), (2) and (5), ORS 164.045(2), 161.615(1) and 161.635(1)(a).
Source: Umpqua Dairy