Tetra Pak is planning to launch a paper straw that is suitable for its portion-sized carton packages before the end of this year.
Image: Tetra Pak’s portion- sized carton package. Photo: courtesy of Tetra Pak International S.A.
The company’s move part of a program to help address the plastic straw waste issue.
Straws are said to play an inherent functional role on portion packages, and will become part of the plastics waste problem if they are not properly disposed.
The company is calling the consumers to push straws back in the pack once empty, which allows to collect along with the rest of the package.
Tetra Pak said the work is under way to develop a paper straw that is suitable for use on its portion-size carton packages.
The firm uses 75% of paperboard in its packages on an average, and the paper straws from the company is a significant step towards its commitment of offering renewable packaging solutions.
Tetra Pak product management and commercial operations executive vice president Charles Brand said: “but in reality, there are a number of significant challenges to producing a paper straw with the required properties.”
“That said, 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.”
In December 2017, Tetra Pak launched new modular portfolio of heating systems, dubbed Intelligent Customisation, which serve as processing solutions for food and beverage manufacturers.
Based on firm’s technologies in dairy, beverages and prepared food processing, the new modules can be combined in multiple configurations, helping to customize each heating solution to meet the specific needs of individual customer.
Tetra Pak provides packaging equipment for liquid food products, as well as a range of processing and packaging technologies for use with a broad array of products from ice cream and cheese to fruit, vegetables and pet food.