Plastics are all around us, in the most of industries (household, office, toys, gastronomy, etc.), everywhere we look. Almost we could say that we live in ‘plastic age’. Plastic consumption is constantly growing, including disposable plastics.
Plastic Straws Consumption
According to a report in 2016, 40 kg of plastic is produced for each of the 7 billion humans every year. Americans still use around 500 millions straws daily. And at least 8 billion plastic straws end up in beaches globally. Also, plastic straws do comprise 4% of the total plastic waste, which is not negligible.
Harmful chemicals contained in plastics make the land barren for further cultivation. Pieces of plastic clog the throats of marine animals, causing them to choke. Thousands of marine animals die due to plastic waste.
Environmental Friendly Natural Innovation in Philippines Cafe
As Sarah Tiu, the manager of Café Editha in Surigao Del Norte in the Philippines, is not fan of plastics, she decided to find replacement for plastic straws. It was not that easy at first. She tried to offer stainless straws and paper straws to the customers, but they weren’t fans of these alternatives.
Sarah did not give up her eco-friendly idea. She found a way when she went on a trip down to Corregidor Island. There she learned how to use natural products like cut lukay (coconut fronds and leaves) and fresh buko (coconut juice) to make straws.
The coconut leaves straws have become popular with the customers. They are biodegradable and do not make any sounds and are leak-proof.
Hopefully, big and small businessmen and managers will prefer ecological accessories in their businesses and companies. That they will open to possibility to replace disposable plastics such as cutlery, cups, bags, straws, mixers and others for innovative eco-friendly ones. As for straws, there are currently available stainless and bamboo straws, even edible straws made from apples and wheat.
Source: phys.org/news/2018-04-science-amount-straws-plastic-pollution.html, truththeory.com/2019/05/27/a-philippines-cafe-makes-straws-from-coconut-leaves-as-a-perfect-alternative-to-plastic-straws/
Credit: facebook.com/cafeeditha
