Crate Expectactions

November 11, 2024 1:05 PM

Where are good places to get free milk crates?

and I mean "real" milk crates, not the sort of thing you buy at Target.
So, yes, businesses like coffee shops certainly have them but I am looking for situations where they just throw them out back.

posted by falsedmitri to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Like the hard plastic ones? Maybe if there's a record store going out of business near you. You could see if any record stores in good standing have any broken ones if those would be of any use to you. Also would try craigslist or any buy-nothing fb groups in your area.
posted by greta simone at 1:11 PM on November 11 [1 favorite]

I mean, they were never free. We frequently stole them back in the day, but they were always thrown out back to be picked up by the delivery company when they came with the next batch of stuff. I don't think you'll find legit free ones unless someone on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist or Nextdoor is coincidentally getting rid of theirs.
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:17 PM on November 11 [24 favorites]

Best answer: It is illegal to take milk crates in the US. And organized crime is on it.

But you can order your own full-strength, not knockoff version at Farmplast.

This knowledge brought to you by an article I read at Modern Farmer months ago when my husband and I were lying in bed wondering why no one makes dorm shelves out of milk crates any more.
posted by warriorqueen at 1:23 PM on November 11 [28 favorites]

I am looking for situations where they just throw them out back.

I'm a little baffled by this statement. They're not throwing them away, they're putting them out there for the milk delivery person to replacement them with full ones. When they go missing because people have stolen them, the store is on the hook for the cost.
posted by dobbs at 1:42 PM on November 11 [9 favorites]

Yeah, they were never "just thrown out back". They were set out back, waiting to be retrieved by the company that actually owned them, and people like me in my misspent 80's youth used to take them when they found them, because they made great record crates and we were broke dumb college kids. The store ended up eating that cost. I'm a lot older now and I still feel somewhat guilty about this.

So, follow warriorqueen's link, buy them at farmplast.
posted by pdb at 2:36 PM on November 11 [2 favorites]

I live in your city. The Sinton Dairy (established in 1880!) is shutting down at the end of the year on Dec 30 -- maybe they have equipment for cheap?
posted by mochapickle at 2:53 PM on November 11 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: I had no idea. I will pursue legitimate means of obtaining them.
posted by falsedmitri at 3:10 PM on November 11 [4 favorites]