SIG says Nestlé is the first customer to introduce SIG’s paper straws and has already tested the market launch in the Dominican Republic.
More packaging formats
The initial volume of paper straws will be limited during the launch phase, as SIG ramps up capacity with its manufacturing partner.
SIG is also continuing to invest in ways to apply this alternative straw to a variety of packaging formats.
Markus Boehm, chief market officer, SIG, said the launch of a paper straw is in response to growing concerns about the environmental impact of plastic straws.
“We saw an opportunity to address concerns about marine litter and offer an added value product to our customers by helping them meet consumer and regulatory demand to scrap plastic straws,” he said.
SIG said it worked closely with a manufacturing partner to develop the straw, which had to be robust enough to pierce the closed straw hole of its aseptic cartons.
Attached to the pack
The wrapper for the straw has also been redesigned to prevent litter by remaining attached to the pack to be recycled along with the rest of the carton.
The paper straws will be made of paperboard from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified forests or other controlled sources.
Customers can already include the FSC label on any SIG carton and they will be able to add the label to the paper straws once the manufacturing partner has completed FSC Chain-of-Custody certification, which is expected during the second half of 2019.
“We are committed to improving the environmental performance of our packaging and addressing the critical issue of single-use plastics is an important part of that,” added Michael Schwan, manufacturing manager RTD, Dairy Strategic Business Unit, Nestlé.
The initiative is part of SIG’s sustainability commitment to go Way Beyond Good by putting more into the environment than society takes out.
