They are great for transporting milk, but a strange choice for headgear. A man learned that using a milk crate as a disguise while holding up a convenience store was anything but convenient. News outlets reported that the robber had to keep removing the crate so that the store clerk could hear his demand for money.

Bar tenders and caterers love to "borrow" plastic milk crates. They hold exactly 40 cold beers or sodas and can perfectly elevate a centerpiece off the tabletop. Once the party's over, however, most of these faithful friends don't get returned to their rightful owners -- the milk companies.

Many earth conscious consumers are turning to bikes as a way to reduce their carbon footprint. Unfortunately, they don't understand that by taking a milk crate out of the delivery cycle they are adding to the carbon footprint of each container of milk.

Homebuilders in the Southwest are experimenting with green building techniques. While these crates might make good adobe building blocks, clearly they belong to a number of milk companies. Check out the Resources section for a sample letter to educate businesses in your community about the misuse of your milk crates.

Call it urban legend or misinformation, but there are a number of commonly held myths that contribute to the loss of milk crates. Here are a few. E-mail us the ones you are hearing in your community.

Myth: The plastic milk crates outside the local supermarket or convenience store are no longer wanted or are abandoned.
Fact: They are ready to be picked up by milk delivery drivers when they bring the next delivery. It is closed loop system that is environmentally friendly when not disrupted.

Myth: There's no harm if I take a milk crate to for personal use.
Fact: You, your neighbors, the environment and businesses are harmed. To make a new crate to replace the one you borrowed requires nearly four pounds of plastic resin to be created, molded and shipped; which produces green house gases. In addition, it adds costs to dairy production which contribute to the price paid for dairy products.

Myth: Reselling a plastic milk crate to a recycler is not a crime.
Fact: Milk crates branded with the name of a dairy company belong to that company. Valued at about $4 each, it does not take long before a batch of stolen milk crates become grand larceny (typically, depending on your state/local laws, $200 to $1,000 or more)