Consumers are increasingly aware of the impact of convenience packaging on the environment and are demanding low-impact alternative options to conventional plastic packaging. A huge area of focus is on straws, and this means replacing plastic drinking straws with paper straws.
Manufacturing paper straws is a completely different process to producing plastic straws. Typically constructed of 3 plies of paper, the plies are bonded together with a small amount of water-based adhesive using a core-winding machine, or hot melt adhesives using a slot nozzle machine for very fast production lines. The choice of the paper and adhesive quality has a fundamental impact on the performance of the paper straw and the efficiency of manufacture. Therefore, a strong paper straw requires that the paper supplier and the adhesive manufacturer work closely together. The paper manufacturer, paper grade, and paper color all must be taken into consideration when choosing the proper adhesive.
Meeting the challenge of producing paper straws that provide the performance demanded by consumers is one that H.B Fuller can help you achieve. Our adhesive solutions deliver compliance with food contact regulations such as FDA 176.170, BfRXXXVI. Those who are new to paper straw manufacturing may not be aware that they should ask adhesive suppliers if their adhesives are compliant with direct liquid contact regulations.
Our paper straw adhesives deliver straw integrity during immersion in liquids. The paper provides the desired barrier performance, and the adhesive provides two key areas of performance. First, the adhesive must provide sufficient bond strength to ensure the straw maintains its form, even at fast production speeds and different paper qualities. And second, the dry bond must remain intact to ensure straw integrity during immersion in beverages, and once the straw is disposed, the adhesive must enable the straw to break down and decompose in a landfill or compost at an industrial composting facility.
Many paper straw manufacturers desire a paper straw that is compostable, but very few understand the requirements to create a compostable paper straw. It is possible to achieve a certified industrial compostable paper straw without a compostable adhesive.
Our portfolio of adhesives for manufacturing paper straws is expanding as the market and consumer needs grow and develop. Our scientist-designed Swift®tak adhesives deliver food safe solutions that maintain straw integrity while the consumer is enjoying a beverage. Swift®tak water-based paper straw adhesives are available across the world and create durable paper straws that withstand three-hour liquid resistance. Most paper straw manufacturers measure liquid resistance as the time it takes for a straw to become excessively soggy or to start flagging (or unravel) when immersed in room temperature water or other liquids. It is very challenging to develop an adhesive that is durable, clean machining, liquid resistant and compostable. At H.B. Fuller, our scientists have developed solutions to meet these challenges and are actively working to create a compostable paper straw adhesive.
Our scientists work beside paper suppliers and paper straw equipment manufacturers to ensure the proper adhesive selection for specific applications and equipment. We are your partner in starting your paper straw business, expanding your business from plastic to paper straws, or upgrading your adhesive technology to a high water-resistant adhesive to improve straw integrity.
Our headquarters features state-of-the-art laboratories that allow us to test H.B. Fuller adhesives with your paper samples prior to running our adhesive on your paper straw lines—providing you with confidence in product performance before halting regular production to trial a new adhesive or paper. Additionally, we can refer you to paper straw paper suppliers and equipment manufacturers. We are active in the paper straw industry and are members of 360FoodService, an industry association of leading paper straw manufacturers, paper suppliers and adhesive suppliers who are dedicated to establishing and sharing paper straw industry best practices.
