Plastic pollution is one of the most serious problems in the world and everyone should consider the plastic problem in daily life. Scientists estimated that around 250 million plastic debris into the ocean and the debris is destroying the marine environment and marine lives, such as sea turtles and seagulls.
Plastic straws as a part of plastic pollution, in the last 50 years, plastic straws are popular in lives, people commonly drink Coca Cola or iced coffee with plastic straws. To reduce the usage of plastic, Vancouver will ban plastic straws at the beginning of 2020, is anything alternative to plastic straws?
Paper straws are invented before plastic straws and are commonly used to replace the plastic straws. However, paper straws are not easy to recycle either, we will require a better recycling system. BBC News states that Mcdonald‘s paper straws cannot recycle because of the thickness of drinking tubes. What else alternatives for plastic straws?
In the previous year, a European company invented pasta straws to replace the abandoned plastic straws and these special straws made from spaghetti. As the news state, the taste of straws is normal when they drink a cold beverage and they can eat the pasta straws if they boil them. This straw is more expensive compared to plastic but it is decomposed.
Photo: Stroodles
Recently, a Korean’ s company designs new straws. The rice straws are made by rice four and tapioca powder. People can eat these straws or the straws can be decomposed in 100 days. Each rice straw costs 0.03 $ while the plastic straw costs 0.01-0.02 $. As the company’ CEO Kim mentioned that the price of the straws will decrease when the productivity increases in the future.
In general, bamboo straws, stainless steel straws and glass straws are also the alternatives of plastic straws. Most of plastic straws alternatives are more eco-friendly, but they are more expensive and inconvenient. Therefore, a better alternative plastic straw or an improved alternative plastic straw will be required in the future.
Posted in Environment
Tagged: plastic recycling, straws