Plastic and all its derivatives have been an incredible discovery for mankind. Products made from it are lightweight, affordable and durable. The last point has literally played a cruel joke on us: due to uncontrolled production, violations of recycling rules, the planet has turned into garbage pockets of plastic.
Today the world’s leading corporations and small companies are more active in demonstrating that there are no alternatives: you can replace plastic, you just need to make a conscious choice. European countries have already banned the production of disposable plastic tableware and plastic bags, cocktail straws are next in line. The eco-replacement will be bamboo.
In general, straws or cocktail straws are quite a strange subject for discussion in terms of ecology: there is no big point in their use, except for aesthetics and some exceptions (diseases, anatomy, when you can’t do without them). The taste of the drink does not change. But at the same time, more than 36 billion plastic tubes are produced annually in European countries alone. And durability is not a “plus” here, they are disposable. Cocktail straws are almost never recycled, but they can be harmful to the environment and animals. In 2015, a turtle with a plastic straw up its nose was found in Costa Rica, and how many animals eat them and die? According to the U.S. community initiative One Less Straw, about 100,000 marine animals and 1 million seabirds in particular die from plastic and straws every year.
If cocktail straws are your masthead, there are replacement options. They can be reusable products made of glass and metal (it comes with a special cleaning brush), or bamboo sticks. Price glass sticks – 2.5 dollars / unit, the metal – from 0.75 dollars / unit, bamboo – 0.12 dollars / unit, and disposable paper and are at all worth less than 5 cents. The difficulty in popularizing the paper tubes is that not always their appearance is presentable, so some customers cafes and bars, preferring other options. The most popular eco-friendly cocktail straws are bamboo.
Why bamboo?
It is a perennial evergreen plant from tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, which is characterized by rapid growth: up to 50 cm per day. The herbaceous plant perfectly copes with temperature changes, humidity rates and mechanical stress. Bamboo products “inherited” these qualities, preserving their functional and aesthetic properties for a long time.
Bamboo drinking straws are not the only use of this raw material for eco-products. It is used to make glasses, spoons/forks/knives, plates, and outside of kitchen utensils it is used to make furniture, stoves, boards and cosmetics. The pluses of the material are low thermal conductivity, speed of drying, safety and environmental friendliness. In addition, the color gamut is endless, which means that even those users who appreciate drinking straws for their design will be able to find their own option among bamboo straws.
And most importantly, recycling. Almost all types of bamboo sticks completely decompose in the ground in just six months, water only takes 2 days for this process. And no toxic emissions and no harm to soil and water bodies.