The change.org platform welcomes the petition of a German manufacturer of sugary drinks, Capri-Sun, aimed at rehabilitating plastic straws that are banned in the EU since January 2022. (1)
Capri-Sun, petition in favor of plastic straws
The initiative is anomalous. The famous platform of petitions inspired by social ‘progress’ hosts the campaign of a giant of sugary drinks that cannot stand the EU ban on single-use plastic straws.
Capri Sun is therefore hiring the international leader in the petition market – whose huge business is the ‘big data’ of millions of members – for a lobbying exercise that aims to reform a regulation aimed at reducing unnecessary plastic packaging, such as straws, for the protection of the environment.
The difficulty of differentiating
The straws are essential, please note, only in the case of pathologies that prevent the normal swallowing of liquids. In other cases, they are only a form of superfluous and polluting consumption.
These disposable items, when made of plastic, have been banned by the Single Use Plastics (SUPs) Directive EU 2019/904 to prevent their dispersion in the environment and pollution by microplastics which are also very harmful to human health. (2)
The German sugary drinks giant, however, goes as far as to state that plastic straws would be an advantage for the environment.
Capri-Sun, the hymn to plastic
‘We know that switching to paper straws in 2021 was not ideal for many of you as it is less functional and the bag and paper straw need to be separated for recycling, which is not always practical.
We believe that there is a better way. Our old envelope was made of multiple materials and could not be recycled. Earlier this year, we introduced a new envelope made of recyclable monomaterial (PP).
Our goal is to bring back recyclable plastic straws so that both the packaging and the straw can be recycled together. This way, you can easily dispose of both, without the paper straw polluting the recycling process’, praises Capri-Sun. (3)
Straws to review?
The petition has already collected 10 signatures. In the comments, almost all of the signatories complain about the bad taste of paper straws, which would crumble and ruin the taste of the drink (usually composed of water, sugar and about 8% fruit juice).
The same comments, if you look closely, can be interpreted as a request to Capri-Sun to improve its packaging. While the majority of the consumers, hopefully, can be able to drink without the need for a straw.
Marta Strinati
Footnotes
(1) Dario Dongo, Luca Foltran. SUP Directive, Legislative Decree 196/21. New rules on single-use plastic items from 14.1.22. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(2) Marta Strinati. Microplastics, a new cardiovascular risk factor. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".