As concerns grow concerning the plastic crisis, one item that must be thrown away is plastic straws. This will not be as easy a task because it could seem. Many people depend on or prefer straws for various reasons. Therefore, an ecological option to switch plastic has turn into a necessity.
In response to the growing demand, several ideas were born. People all around the world have invented latest, more sustainable materials from which to make straws. One of those sensible solutions comes from a young Vietnamese entrepreneur who recently launched a straw created from wild grass. It quickly became an enormous success and everybody who uses them or learns about them will love them!
The young Vietnamese man’s name is Tran Minh Tien and he’s the owner of Ống Hút Cỏ., an organization that produces two kinds of sedge grass straws. He got here up with the revolutionary idea of using a species of grass called Lepironia Articulata, locally often known as cobang, which grows within the Mekong Delta region in southwestern Vietnam, due to his desire to do something that may help fight plastic.
Sedge grass has a hole stem, so it naturally already has a straw shape. The straws are available in two versions, one dried and the opposite fresh. Tran explains in video on Facebook by VnExpress International how grass turns into straw:
- The grass is cultivated, harvested, washed and cut into pieces 20 centimeters (about 8 inches) long.
- The within the straws is then cleaned using an iron rod.
- Then they’re washed and rinsed again.
- If they’re to be sold fresh, the method is accomplished and the ready-to-use straws are bundled together banana leaves.
- If they’re to be sold dried, there remains to be more work to be done. They need to go away the straws under the sun for 2 to a few days after which bake them within the oven.
The fresh version could be stored for as much as two weeks within the refrigerator and in airtight bags. If you wish fresh straws to last even longer, the corporate’s website suggests boiling the straws with a little bit salt, letting them dry, after which storing them in a cool, dry place.
The dried version could be stored at room temperature for as much as six months.
According to Ống Hút Cỏ, each kinds of grass straws are edible and chewing them after a meal can actually help clean your teeth and gums. They are also compostable, contain no chemicals or preservatives, and are inexpensive.
They sell them in packs of 100, with one dry straw costing 1,000 Vietnamese dong ($0.043) and one fresh straw costing 600 Vietnamese dong ($0.026). At the moment, these grass straws are only available on the market in Vietnam.
Zero waste in Saigon is one other company based in Vietnam that sells straws created from wild Mekong Delta grass. Their straws come from a manufacturer apart from Ống Hút Cỏ.
