Greene King to introduce PLA straws in UK

UK-based pub retailer and brewer Greene King has announced plans to introduce compostable polylactic acid (PLA) straws across all 1,750 of its pubs in the country.

Part of the company’s pledge to send zero waste to landfill by 2020, the initiative will see the reduction of more than 30 million plastic straws from use every year.

PLA straws are produced with plant-based materials such as sugar cane and corn starch and decompose naturally in a controlled composting environment within a short period of time.

Greene King communications director Greg Sage said: “We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and reducing single-use plastics in our business.

“At the beginning of the year, we removed our recyclable straws from the bar and provided them only on demand, which saw a 60% reduction, while we looked at a more sustainable alternative.

“We have taken the time to listen to our customers as we know how important this issue is. Our closed-loop solution will ensure all PLA straws are correctly disposed of and decomposed into nutrient-rich soil, providing peace of mind for our customers who like the choice of a straw with their drink.”

For this new initiative, Greene King has worked with SWRnewstar, the company’s waste partner.

Under the partnership, the company found a closed loop solution for segregating PLA straws in the pub.

They are collected and decomposed in an ‘In Vessel composter’ at a commercial composting facility.

SWRnewstar CEO Andy Butler said: “Partnering with forward-thinking businesses that have a shared passion in delivering innovative and sustainable solutions, and that crucially walk the talk, is key to SWRnewstar.

“Over the last five years we have worked very closely with Greene King in a number of innovative ways and in so doing have helped them stay at the leading edge of both distribution models and the environment agenda within the hospitality industry.”