Roda Packaging from Opovo Produces 100 Million Biodegradable Drinking Straws a Month

One of the business ideas aiming to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in the environment is the production of biodegradable paper drinking straws. The Opovo-based company Roda Packaging is behind this idea.

Each month, 100 tons of paper is processed and 100 million biodegradable straws are produced at the facility in Opovo. They are sold in the local market, but also in foreign ones, mostly in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Greece, Austria and Germany.

– We are expanding the production, orienting to industrial straws, those for the milk industry and the juice industry. The straws are either U-shaped or straight with a clipped end. There's a great demand for this and we expect to expand the capacities by the end of the year to 200 to 300 million pieces – the sales director, Milan Zivic, said for RTV.

The production is automated and around EUR 1 million was invested in the equipment. The coronavirus pandemic has somewhat slowed down the sales, as most of their clients come from the hotel and hospitality sector.

There is a great market demand for biodegradable straws. If it remains so, Roda plans to increase the production five times next year. There's also a plan to invest several million euros in raising and equipping a new hall. This would create the conditions for the employment of more than 100 workers from Opovo and its area at the factory.

RODA PACKAGING d.o.o. Opovo

Roda packaging

Roda packaging Opovo

Milan Živić

Vukadin Rodić

Dejan Lazić

reduction of amount of waste in the environment

production of biodegradable paper straws

biodegradable straws

paper straws

industrial straws

milk industry straws

juice industry straws

automated production

hotel business

hospitality

single use plastics

ban on single use plastics