KUALA LUMPUR (July 23): Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd will be implementing 100% paper straws across its entire ultra-high temperature (UHT) processing range by the end of 2020, making it the first large-scale food and beverage company in Asean to do so. In a statement today, Nestle Malaysia said the initiative will eliminate over 200 million plastic straws per year, marking another breakthrough in the company’s war on plastic waste. Nestle Malaysia chief executive officer (CEO) Juan Aranols (pic) said plastic waste is a global threat and the group had started introducing paper straws for MILO UHT 125ml drink packs and its newly launched Milo Nutri Pluz. “We are now pleased to deliver on our commitment to expanding this all across our ready-to-drink (RTD) UHT products, with the transition completed by the end of 2020. To date, 90% of Nestle Malaysia’s total packaging is already designed for recycling.” Meanwhile, Nestle Malaysia’s business executive officer for the RTD business unit, April Wong, said …

KUCHING: A ban on single-use plastic straws will be fully enforced in Kuching South starting April 1 this year, says Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng. He added that a trial run campaign would kick off on March 1, following a recent meeting with coffee shop and eatery outlet operators. “During the meeting with coffee shop and eatery outlet operators, we agreed that we would start a trial run on March 1 and fully enforce the ban on April 1. This will give them time to clear their stock in that time frame,” Wee said when met after the launching ceremony of Visit Malaysia 2020 stickers for tourist buses and coaches at the MBKS foyer earlier today. He explained that it was imperative to educate and create awareness about not using single-use straws before fully enforcing the ban. “We will start with the campaign for the public and the coffee shop and eatery outlets operators to …