Portuguese retailer Continente has announced that it is to eliminate plastic straws from its private-label milk, juices, nectars and iced teas by the end of this year.
The move will see the retailer replacing plastic straws with paper alternatives in these products.
The company aims to cut the production of 35 million plastic straws per year through this initiative.
The retailer has started to roll out the products in the new packaging with paper straws and iconography featuring the recyclability of the packaging.
It has been developed in association with Sociedade Ponto Verde - a non-profit organisation that ensures proper recycling of packaging components.
Consumers are required to insert the paper straws in the empty juice or milk pack before discarding, the retailer said.
'Transition To Circular Economy'
Private brand director at Sonae MC, Ana Alves, said, “Accelerating the transition to a circular economy is only possible with the involvement of everyone.
“We want to contribute as much as possible to this process of replacing unnecessary plastic in Continente brand products and we count on our consumers to ensure that, after being used, the packaging reaches the right destination to gain a new life.”
Single-use disposable plastics are primarily responsible for ocean pollution and will be banned in the European Union from 2021, Continente added.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
