The use of environmentally friendly packaging is increasing day by day in line with the development of eco-friendly packaging innovations and demands in developed countries that have carried out environmental care programs and movements. PE plastic as an additional layer of disposable paper cup packaging is one of the market’s concerns because the plastic coating material takes hundreds of years to decompose. The issue of plastic waste is a never-ending problem considering that each year plastic waste continues to grow and the impact it has on the environment gets worse.

In developed countries, plastic use reduction programs have been implemented in almost all segments such as the use of shopping bags, industrial product packaging, and other plastic food/beverage packaging.

According to data from the UK government’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the UK consumes around 8.5 billion plastic straws per year. This is equivalent to the average citizen using 130 straws per year, and compared to other European countries, this figure is very high.

When ordering drinks and using plastic straws, we don’t realize the big picture behind the straw after throwing it away. There are 8.3 billion tons of plastic waste in the world and seven percent of this plastic waste data consists of plastic straws. The UK contributes 4.93 million tons of plastic waste each year and 3,570 tons of straws.

Along with the deteriorating amount of plastic waste in the world, currently the use of plastic straws has begun to be banned and reduced, for example in coffee shops or paper cups in fast food restaurants in the F&B segment. They only serve drink orders in the cup without adding a plastic straw. This policy has begun to be implemented in almost all large fast food restaurants. Then one of the latest innovations is a paper cup called Butterfly Cup as a solution to reduce the use of plastic straws and plastic lids. The shape is unique but has great value and is useful.

The butterfly cup is a breakthrough design for standard paper cups and has the advantage of being environmentally friendly. The design is patent and has a lid that integrates with the paper cup to avoid the use of a separate plastic lid. The method of the lid that blends with the paper cup is simpler and hygienic than ordinary conventional paper cup which have a separate plastic lid.

The Butterfly Cup design also has a feature to prevent water from spilling from the paper cup if it is closed properly, unlike ordinary conventional paper cup which require an additional plastic lid. In conditions of high mobility, such as in the cabin of an airplane, this is an efficiency and a major improvisation in terms of safety because water will not spill. Consumers can sip drinks through the two sides of the holes on the right and top left of the paper cup.

The Butterfly Cup design fits perfectly with the Foopak Bio Natura paper. Foopak Bio Natura is biodegradable in the soil directly for 24 weeks. Foopak Bio Natura paper has a plastic-free certification from Flustix to ensure that this paper does not use a plastic coating. In addition, this paper is safe for direct contact with food because it has passed the food grade test from ISEGA and the FDA which states it is safe.

In use at high temperatures, this paper can be put in the microwave up to 175° C. As an environmentally friendly paper, this paper also has a Cyclos certificate which means it can be recycled without special treatment.

PT. Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper Tbk. Serang Mill produces Foopak Bio Natura paper as a practical and plastic-free environmentally friendly Food paper packaging solution. The combination of Foopak Bio Natura paper with the Butterfly Cup design has been realized and has collaborated with Anomali Coffee, with the vision of reducing plastic waste and preserving the environment.

Foopak Bio Natura and Anomali Coffee contributed to the success of the G20 Summit in Indonesia by creating a Butterfly Cup with the nuances of the G20 Indonesia 2022. Indonesia itself is the fourth largest coffee producer in the world after Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia. In the last 10 years the coffee industry in Indonesia has increased significantly by 250%. Foopak Bio Natura paper is specifically designed to be used as an environmentally friendly paper cup, which is directly proportional to the development of the coffee industry. It is hoped that the Butterfly Cup innovation will soon be recognized by the market and penetrated as packaging for coffee or any beverage. It’s time to drink wisely for a greener earth in the future!