The company will begin rolling out new packaging for the MILO UHT 125ml drink packs, which will eventually eliminate 40 million plastic straws per year.
Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad chief executive officer Juan Aranols said that it is the company's priority to reduce plastic waste and mitigate climate change effects through advanced technology and product design, as well as educating the consumers.
"This is the latest of our contributions to Nestlé’s pledge to make our packaging 100 per cent recyclable or reusable by 2025. Our teams have worked very hard to successfully roll out a solution that is not only effective and scalable, but most importantly, one that meets Nestlé’s stringent product quality standards for the safety of consumers," he said in a statement.
However, this transition has not been an easy process.
Nestlé had to ensure that the alternative straws were made from high quality material which fits certain packaging specifications and remain sturdy when used without posing any risk.
"We also had to identify suppliers who were capable of meeting our rigorous standards at the quantities required for high volume production," Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad business executive officer frmo the Ready to Drink Business United Ng Su Yen said.
Following this initiative, Nestlé Malaysia will continue rolling out paper straws to other MILO UHT variants in phases progressively with the ultimate goal of eliminating over 200 million plastic straws a year.
This is one of the many initiatives Nestlé Malaysia has in the pipeline for their War on Plastic Waste. The group is also continuously developing environmentally-friendly solutions as two-thirds of Nestlé Malaysia's total plastic packaging now is designed for recycling.
Nestlé also continues to develop and test new environmentally-friendly packaging materials and systems together with development centres, suppliers, research institutions, and start-ups.
In addition to transformation its packaging to be fully recyclable, Nestlé also wants to inspire behaviour change to promote a waste-free future.
We hope that more food and beverage companies will begin implementing this packaging solution in the near future and reduce plastic waste.