The Milkman Is Back and Taking On Waste, Thanks to Sydney Business Restore

“I had a milkman as a kid and I loved it,” Dominic Ryan, founder of milk delivery service Restore, tells Broadsheet. “It’s a lovely surprise to wake up to fresh produce that’s left the farm two days ago.”

The milkman, once a neighbourhood icon together with the postie, baker and iceman, was making rounds across Australian doorsteps until the 1980s – a true community essential. But thanks to the dominance of supermarkets and online shopping, the milkman has become a thing of the past – and a source of nostalgia for people like Ryan.

But as well as revisiting his childhood, Ryan also had an environmental mission in bringing milk delivery back into circulation with Restore.

“[I was] astounded, shocked and disheartened,” he says, referring to the volume of single-use plastic his household was going through – ubiquitous plastic milk bottles being a particular offender. Thus, Restore was born. Ryan’s business delivers milk in re-used, recyclable glass containers all around Sydney – think Randwick, Clovelly, Dulwich Hill, Kensington, Marrickville and a lot of the north shore – and it’s only expanding.

It all happens early: deliveries are made by 7.30am each morning. The day depends on where you live, but it’ll be Ryan or someone from the team delivering single-source Jersey milk ($5.85 for 750 millilitres) and Greek yoghurt from Marrickville’s Evia ($9.60 for 485 grams). The milk, from family-owned Tilba Dairy in regional New South Wales, was chosen especially. “It’s the best-tasting milk in New South Wales,” Ryan says.

Ryan’s aim is to cut plastic waste. And locals are on board: in a survey he conducted, 95 per cent of respondents (all living on the north shore, where Restore was first rolled out) stated they were “highly concerned” about the plastic piling up in their bins. “People are motivated, and they want to get involved.” The team are on track to be delivering to 1000 Sydneysiders by the end of 2025, and have forecast to save 100,000 plastic bottles from production (then landfill) this year too.

Ryan is also passionate about supporting dairy farmers – by buying straight from the source – who are struggling under the pressure of supermarket prices and climate-related challenges.

The New South Wales Return and Earn scheme doesn’t allow the return of plastic milk bottles, whereas Restore follows a closed-loop philosophy. The empty glass bottles are collected from customers, washed, refilled and reused – 24 times, to be exact.

Residents in the 38 postcodes currently covered can choose their dairy then opt for weekly or fortnightly deliveries. And you can check whether your neighbourhood’s covered on the site. Not there? Let the team know and they’ll add you to the list of interested suburbs. There are currently “hundreds” on the waitlist, which powers the team forwards.

Restore is currently delivering Tilba Dairy’s Jersey milk and Sydney-made Greek yoghurt to suburbs all over Sydney.

restore.au
@restore.australia