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Turning the tide on packaging with paper straws

Nestlé and Juliana's journey to eliminate plastic straws in Brazil
Juliana's journey

At Nestlé, reducing our use of plastic packaging is a major part of our packaging transition strategy. Feeling a need to be part of the action was the catalyst for Juliana, a sustainability analyst in Brazil.

When she saw the impacts of waste ending up in oceans and water streams, she channeled her sustainability passion into a Nestlé project that would transform the ready-to-drink beverage industry in Brazil: replacing plastic straws with recyclable paper ones.

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Swimming against the sea

Nestlé's vision is that none of our packaging ends up in landfill or as litter, including in oceans, lakes, or rivers.

Nestlé is committed to reduce our use of single-use plastics and make 100% of our packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025

Juliana and the Brazil project team dug into the topic. Their fire to make a change required patience as they grew to understand the complexities of tackling every step involved in production to create this small but critical package change. The team had to make sure the packaging wouldn't break down when it was moved or on store shelves, and the new design had to work well for families.

Despite the challenges, the team accelerated their packaging transformation for all ready-to-drink products in just a year, thanks to collaboration with colleagues across the business in Brazil. Nestlé Brazil now uses 100% paper straws, covering brands like Nescau, Nesquik, Ninho, Farinha Láctea.

Nestlé drinks with paper straws

The Brazil team's work is part of a bigger global vision. Around the world, Nestlé is committed to reduce our use of single-use plastics and make 100% of our packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. We're taking a multi-pronged approach: introducing reusable packaging, new delivery systems, and innovative business models while also supporting infrastructure investment and new waste collection models. 

Nestlé Brazil now uses 100% paper straws, covering brands like Nescau, Nesquik, Ninho, Farinha Láctea

While Juliana and the team brought the effort to life in Brazil, it also took shape around the world: in Colombia, the Nestlé team eliminated ten million plastic straws and wrappers. In Malaysia and Indonesia, teams eliminated the use of 70 million plastic straws. Since 2019, over 1700 tons of plastic have been saved by the plastic straw elimination.

Making a real difference together

The story of Juliana and her team is a testament to the power of local teams taking on global challenges. And the transition from plastic to paper doesn't stop at straws.

We launched recyclable paper-based packaging for products like Nesquik All Natural, Nama Orange ice cream, Nescafé ProSlim, outer bag packaging of multi-packs of KitKat in Japan, Maggi Bio bouillon cubes in France & Romania, and Smarties blocks, as well as paper straws for Nesquik, Nescau, Milo, and Nescafé. With each brand's packaging progress, behind-the-scenes there are teams like Juliana's facing the challenges involved head-on, dedicated to building a sustainable roadmap.