Dairy firm FrieslandCampina has introduced paper straws across its entire portfolio of products that require a straw, with the rollout expected to take approximately a year.
According to the company, more than 100 million plastic straws will be replaced by a more sustainable variant as part of the move.
The move follows FrieslandCampina's recent introduction of recyclable cheese packaging, as part of its measures to reduce its plastic footprint.
Making It Work
Commenting on the technical challenges involved in switching to paper straws, Patrick van Baal, global director packaging development at FrieslandCampina said, “It is not easy to develop a strong paper straw that is flexible and hygienic and that does not get soft too quickly while drinking.
"In addition, the straw must be degradable in case it accidentally ends up in the environment. After a lot of testing, we have succeeded in developing a straw that meets all these requirements.”
The brands that will see a switch to paper straws include Chocomel, Fristi, Campina and Optimel in the Netherlands; Cécémel, Joyvalle and Fristi in Belgium; Pöttyös in Hungary and Yazoo in the United Kingdom.
While the protective wrapping around the paper straws will remain as plastic for the time being, the company said that that it is in the process of seeing a more sustainable material for this purpose.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
