Tetra Pak has pledged to include paper straws on its portion-size carton packages before the end of 2018, to help address the issue of plastic straw waste.
The company encourages consumers to push straws ‘back in the pack’ once empty, so they can be collected along with the rest of the package. Now, work is under way to develop a paper straw that is suitable for use on its portion-size carton packages.
Charles Brand, Executive Vice President of Product Management and Commercial Operations, said: “It sounds simple enough but in reality, there are a number of significant challenges to producing a paper straw with the required properties. Our development team is confident they can find a solution, and that we’ll have a paper straw alternative ready to launch by the end of the year.”
On average, Tetra Pak packages are about 75 per cent paperboard. Adding paper straws would progress its long-term ambition of offering a completely renewable portfolio.
The new packaging is produced using over 80 percent materials from renewable resources