How to get rid of single use plastic straw, with natural raw materials: sugarcane fiber
Single use plastic like straws can be fun to use but if you look in detail, it’s a real pledge.
According to The Last Plastic Straw, a project of Plastic Pollution Coalition : “Over 500,000,000 plastic straws are used each day in the United States. In only the past twenty years, people have come to expect plastic straws in every drink, in an example of extreme waste being generated for minimal convenience. These short-lived tools are usually dropped into a garbage can with no further thought, instantly becoming a source of plastic pollution.”
Outside of United States, the situation is not better. In an effort to reduce the mountains of plastic refuse we produce day after day, the EU Commission wants to regulate the use of throw-away plastic cutlery. Items such as drinking straws might seem negligible at first, but when you consider that 3.5 million straws are given out a day by McDonald’s in the UK alone, you grasp that even little changes in what single-use items we consume can make a real difference. According to figures released by consulting firm Eunomia, the UK consumes by far the most straws in the EU. So try your coke without a straw next time - it almost tastes the same! 23 billion of straws are consumed each year by 13 European countries only in fast food restaurant chains.
Top 13 European countries, consumption of plastic straws per annum
Let’s have a look to a solution maker, giving you always the pleasure to drink with a straw if you can’t do without : sugarcane made straws. It’s natural plant-based, vegetal, plastic-free and non-toxic.
A Taiwanese company, Ju Tian Eco-Material Co. LTD has innovated to elaborate single use plastic as straws from vegetable, plastic-free materials. This innovative company also designs and manufactures drinking cups, bowls, dining plates, spoon and forks.
It has obvious ecological advantages and superiority: it’s compostable, 100% sage, easy to differentiate, does not get soggy. It’s derived from renewable resources, it’s definitely eco-friendly and would be degraded after compost. It’s made from vegetable resources with no plastic added, it’s more suitable for food-service usage due to its flexibility and non-toxic. Unlike paper straws, it allows to enjoy beverage for the whole day without straws getting soggy. And Sugarcane straws have other advantages: it’s low negative environmental impact, low carbon footprint and low energy consumption to produce.
They are made from sugarcane fiber when producing sugar. Other natural product can be turn into straws: bamboo powder, sugarcane bagasse, coffee grounds, beer brewing spent grains. The products of this company are patented and rigorously controlled for best quality. It brings a solution to plastic pollution while proposing new alternative to plastic over-consumption. Also Ju Tian Eco-Material Co. LTD also states their products made of wastes reclycling help more effective usage of ressources: they redesign the wastes into new products to create less wastage. It’s a real concept concretizing the circular economy with the aim of waste-out by using renewable and recycled materials end to end: from sourcing, to design, to manufacture, to use until final recycling to reach zero waste.
Their products can be ordered here: https://www.plastic-free.com.tw/enhome.html
According to the company : “At the current stage, there are 4 countries that can get our product with a large quantity, which are Australia, Malaysia, Korea, and Taiwan. We are glad to inform you that our product, sugarcane straws, will be listed on Amazon in January 2019. We believe that in the near future you can find our straws massively in the market.”