Beyond paper and plastic, the quest for the perfect straw continues
The humble straw that became a flashpoint in the broader battle over environmentalism continues to evolve. And while there’s not as much fanfare, nonplastic straws are making inroads.
Companies are now making straws out of steel, silicone, glass, bamboo, hay, grass, seaweed, flour, pasta and, fittingly, straw. There has also been growing interest in continuing to create straws out of plastics, though companies have popped up that have developed straws made from biodegradable and compostable plastics.Read More : 3M's Scotch Cushion Lock is a paper alternative to plastic bubble wrap Growth in the sale of these alternative straws has been significant. Kayla Via, the category manager of disposable drinkware and accessories at Clark Associates, a company that directs several national and international restaurant supply distributors, said eco-friendly and alternative straws constitute 22% of sales (in comparison to 65% for plastic and 13% for paper), but they are growing at by far the fastest rate, with 150% growth in 2022.
While traditional plastic straws are made of polypropylene, a growing number of straws and other single-use plastic products are being made of biodegradable or compostable plastics like polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and polylactic acid (PLA). Straws made of such bioplastics are now highly represented in the market, offered by companies such as beyondGREEN and phade.
“It looks like, acts like, and behaves just like a traditional plastic straw,” said Michael Winters, president and chief revenue officer of WinCup, the company that manufactures phade straws.
According to Yale Environment 360, bioplastics like PHA and PLA represent a $9 billion share of the $1.2 trillion plastic market. Ramani Narayan, distinguished professor in the department of chemical engineering and materials science at Michigan State University, said while traditional plastics have backbones made of very strong carbon-carbon bonds, bioplastics like PHA and PLA have a weaker ester backbone, which allows them to be consumed by microbes and thus degrade much more quickly than traditional plastics.
Still, Narayan worries that bioplastics often get overhyped. “There is no magical solution, where you use it and irrespective of whether we manage it properly or you throw it away, that product will disappear and be removed from the environment. That doesn’t exist,” Narayan said of some of the plastic alternatives.
The shift away from plastic straws began in 2018, when a 2015 video of researchers removing a plastic straw from a sea turtle’s nose went viral. Environmental groups began targeting plastic straws and other single-use plastics in order to reduce plastic pollution, particularly in the ocean where it had the potential to harm sea life.
The trend quickly caught on, with cities such as Seattle and Washington, D.C., banning plastic straws. Several major companies such as Starbucks, Disney and Marriott made promises in July 2018 to phase out plastic straws, with many more joining in the transition since. Recently, entire countries have made the pledge to phase out single-use plastics like straws.
As plastic straws were phased out, paper straws became the quick replacement — the once-unknown product was popping up at restaurants and retailers across the country. Fortune reported then that one paper straw company, Aardvark Straws, saw sales increase by 5,000% in 2019.
But when paper straws were adopted, they too received their fair share of critiques. Avid science communicator Bill Nye told MSNBC in 2019, “A plastic straw is just better. It just works better than a paper straw.” And the jabs continue, with a viral tweet from last month saying, “I wonder if the inventor of paper straws ever considered that they would be in prolonged contact with liquid.”
The concerns are not unfounded. A study from 2019 indicated that paper straws lose 70% to 90% of their strength after being in contact with liquid for less than 30 minutes.
Since then, a variety of companies have sought to market straws stronger than paper but with a smaller environmental footprint than plastic — and the Covid pandemic provided a boost.
Companies are now making straws out of steel, silicone, glass, bamboo, hay, grass, seaweed, flour, pasta and, fittingly, straw. There has also been growing interest in continuing to create straws out of plastics, though companies have popped up that have developed straws made from biodegradable and compostable plastics.
While traditional plastic straws are made of polypropylene, a growing number of straws and other single-use plastic products are being made of biodegradable or compostable plastics like polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and polylactic acid (PLA). Straws made of such bioplastics are now highly represented in the market, offered by companies such as beyondGREEN and phade.
“It looks like, acts like, and behaves just like a traditional plastic straw,” said Michael Winters, president and chief revenue officer of WinCup, the company that manufactures phade straws.
According to Yale Environment 360, bioplastics like PHA and PLA represent a $9 billion share of the $1.2 trillion plastic market. Ramani Narayan, distinguished professor in the department of chemical engineering and materials science at Michigan State University, said while traditional plastics have backbones made of very strong carbon-carbon bonds, bioplastics like PHA and PLA have a weaker ester backbone, which allows them to be consumed by microbes and thus degrade much more quickly than traditional plastics.
Still, Narayan worries that bioplastics often get overhyped. “There is no magical solution, where you use it and irrespective of whether we manage it properly or you throw it away, that product will disappear and be removed from the environment. That doesn’t exist,” Narayan said of some of the plastic alternatives.
The shift away from plastic straws began in 2018, when a 2015 video of researchers removing a plastic straw from a sea turtle’s nose went viral. Environmental groups began targeting plastic straws and other single-use plastics in order to reduce plastic pollution, particularly in the ocean where it had the potential to harm sea life.
The trend quickly caught on, with cities such as Seattle and Washington, D.C., banning plastic straws. Several major companies such as Starbucks, Disney and Marriott made promises in July 2018 to phase out plastic straws, with many more joining in the transition since. Recently, entire countries have made the pledge to phase out single-use plastics like straws.
As plastic straws were phased out, paper straws became the quick replacement — the once-unknown product was popping up at restaurants and retailers across the country. Fortune reported then that one paper straw company, Aardvark Straws, saw sales increase by 5,000% in 2019.
But when paper straws were adopted, they too received their fair share of critiques. Avid science communicator Bill Nye told MSNBC in 2019, “A plastic straw is just better. It just works better than a paper straw.” And the jabs continue, with a viral tweet from last month saying, “I wonder if the inventor of paper straws ever considered that they would be in prolonged contact with liquid.”
The concerns are not unfounded. A study from 2019 indicated that paper straws lose 70% to 90% of their strength after being in contact with liquid for less than 30 minutes.
Since then, a variety of companies have sought to market straws stronger than paper but with a smaller environmental footprint than plastic — and the Covid pandemic provided a boost.
Source: www.nbcnews.com
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