Back Paper straw
Bendable
Are you being held back by new laws and regulations? Not us; we are triggered!
TRICAS develops the bendable paper straw
Innovate?
Then you will need a “driver”
An incentive that motivates you to the fullest to develop the best possible product. At TRICAS, we are increasingly triggered by new sustainability laws and regulations.
An example? The government wants to eliminate the use of single-use plastics. And rightly so. This does mean, for example, that the plastic straw is now history. That’s why we were commissioned by Tembo Paper to develop a paper straw that bends just as nicely. And no, this was not easy.
But of course that didn’t stop us.
Plastics
vs. paper
Greendeals. New laws and regulations. Good to see that the government wants to accelerate sustainable innovations in various ways. For example, plastic straws have now been banned in order to reduce the amount of litter.
Yet, the plastic straw could not simply be replaced with a paper one. Why not? Because it is super difficult to give this material the same flexibility and pliability as plastic. Also, a bendable paper straw should also be suitable for high speed mass volume production.
Challenged
By Tembo Paper
It was Arend van der Sluis, CEO at Tembo Paper, who challenged us in 2021 by requesting the following: ‘Develop a paper straw that is 180 degrees bendable.’ Up to that point, several manufacturers had not been successful in creating such a product.
They all ran aground on a crucial property of the paper straw: malleability. That’s why we at TRICAS delve into the history of bendable straws. We looked into methods already available to give paper tubes the desired bending angle. Which shapes provide the best flexibility. And which patents have already been established in this area.
Innovation
Thanks to origami
During a brainstorming session, the solution came from an unexpected places. It turns out that in the Japanese art of folding known as origami, a compression method is used to create symmetrical ribbed patterns on a paper tube. We use this compression method as inspiration in our search for the possibilities for an automated production process of bendable paper straws.
Together with Tembo Paper’s machine developers, we translate this compression method into a paper product suitable for high speed mass volume production.
Approach
Out of the box
Is Arend van der Sluis of Tembo Paper happy with this result? ‘Most definitely!’
TRICAS managed to use an out-of-the-box approach to produce a result in a short period of time that we could quickly translate into production. Now, with minimal use of glue, we can successfully replace the hard-to-recycle plastic straws with our bendable paper straws that are not only sustainable, but also future-proof.
Do you also have plans
Try us!
Do you also have plans for an innovative and sustainable product, but run into obstacles on the road related to laws and regulations?
