U-Bend paper straw
Swedish sustainable packaging company BillerudKorsnäs, together with the Paper Straw Co, has developed the first functional 180° U-Bend paper straw. The straw is designed for use with individual drink cartons such as juice, milk and water. There is extensive long term market potential in the product which also has a positive sustainability impact.
BillerudKorsnäs has just filed a patent of the U-Bend paper straw in cooperation with The Paper Straw Company, who will produce the straw in Manchester, UK and in the US. The end-users will be consumers buying individual drink cartons filled with juice, milk or water. Made out of FibreForm, a uniquely malleable paper patented by BillerudKorsnäs, the U-Bend paper straw is durable and recyclable. The straw based on materials from sustainably sourced forests is also biodegradable, resulting in a positive impact on pollution and littering compared to plastic straws.
”The U-Bend straw is the first paper straw that is 180° bendable. It can be used together with existing drink packaging. Today many billion bendable straws are produced in a year which means that the potential for our business and our contribution to a more sustainable packaging world is, to say the least, considerable.” says Emma Hellqvist, Formable Solutions at BillerudKorsnäs.
"At this moment, we are ready to go into industrial trials with the goal to be able to commercialise by the end of this year. The key to success lies in the efforts of innovation, collaboration and strong partnerships - in this case with The Paper Straw Co owned by Hoffmaster Group. Aardvark Straws is part of Hoffmaster Group and will enable the production of the U-Bend paper straw for the US-market," she added.
Geert Pijper, Co-Founder The Paper Straw Co. said: “We are excited to expand our line of paper straw offerings with the patent pending U-Bend paper straw.”
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