Capri-Sun, the popular drink pouch manufacturer, has launched an online petition to bring back plastic straws. The company aims to collect one million signatures to present to the European Commission, challenging the EU’s ban on single-use plastic items.
Petition for plastic straws faces skepticism
Capri-Sun has initiated an online petition on change.org, seeking one million signatures to support their request for an exemption from the EU ban on single-use plastic straws. CEO Roland Weening told the Swiss “Sonntagszeitung” about two weeks ago that he wants to work towards obtaining an exemption from the EU for the ban on disposable plastic straws.
However, experts are skeptical about the company’s chances. Adriana Neligan, an expert on circular economy at the German Economic Institute in Cologne, stated, “I don’t believe there will be an exemption for a single company.” Andreas Hermann from the Öko-Institut in Darmstadt added that the directive serves environmental protection, plastic straws are banned, and “no exceptions are provided for in the directive.”
Environmental concerns and product evolution
Environmentalists have strongly criticized Capri-Sun’s initiative. Viola Wohlgemuth from the Exit Plastik alliance said, “The product itself is already a disposable catastrophe, it immediately becomes waste – this no longer fits into our time, where politicians and people worldwide are committed to a sustainable future.” She added that reintroducing plastic straws would be “a step back into the last century.”
Capri-Sun, which produces in Eppelheim near Heidelberg, has been using paper straws since 2021. Weening mentioned that the company is working on switching back to plastic straws in Switzerland and neighboring countries. According to the company, customers are bothered by the current paper straws being harder to insert, becoming soft, and imparting a paper taste while drinking.
Future plans and potential alternatives
Expert Neligan doesn’t expect a reversal of the EU ban on single-use plastic items from 2021. However, she also criticized paper straws, which often don’t survive a single use. “The question is: How often can I use a product? And of course, this improves the ecological balance,” she explained.
Capri-Sun is currently exploring the possibility of allowing consumers to dispose of both the drink pouch and straw – both made of polypropylene – together in recyclable plastic waste. Currently, the classic 200-milliliter variant of the drink pouch also contains aluminum. In a next step, the company plans to make the drink pouch entirely from polypropylene.
This move by Capri-Sun highlights the ongoing challenges companies face in balancing consumer preferences with environmental regulations and sustainability goals.
