Bay of Plenty schools to say goodbye to plastic straws on their milk

The option to shift to the more sustainable packaging was being offered to all 107 Bay of Plenty schools who participate in Fonterra Milk for Schools. Photo / File

Plastic straws on milk packs could be a thing of the past for children drinking milk at school.

The Milk for Schools programme, which is run by Fonterra, is run in 107 schools around the Bay of Plenty and was introduced in 2013.

Fonterra director of sustainability Carolyn Mortland said the company recognised the growing concern around plastic packaging and were working hard to make theirs sustainable.

"While our plastic straws and wrappers on our milk packs are recyclable, we appreciate some plastic straws don't always end up in the recycling bins and are at risk of ending up as litter in the ocean," Mortland said.

The company was offering schools across Bay of Plenty the opportunity to move to a more sustainable packaging as part of its efforts to reduce waste going to landfill.

Mortland said moving away from the small 200ml single-serve milk packs toward a 1-litre format was a sustainable packaging choice.

The option to shift to the more sustainable packaging was being offered to all 107 Bay of Plenty schools who participate in Fonterra Milk for Schools.

Bay of Plenty Fonterra farmer Brett Sterritt said the 1-litre pack was more sustainable as it did not use straws or plastic wrapping and it was not single-serve.

"It also allows schools to minimise milk wastage, by having more control over serving size."

WHAT IS MILK FOR SCHOOLS?

The programme is free for all Kiwi kids in any primary school that would like to take part.

Milk For Schools is now in 70 per cent of New Zealand primary schools, but more schools are encouraged to apply online.

More than 140,000 pupils drink milk through the programme every day.

Source - Fonterra