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<\/div>Seaweed Sippers<\/h2>
Every day, Americans use an estimated 500 million plastic straws<\/a> — and the vast majority are ending up in landfills or oceans<\/a>, where they’ll likely remain for hundreds of years.<\/p> More and more locations are starting to ban these straws<\/a>, but rather than asking people to live a straw-less existence, a startup called Loliware thinks we should provide them with an environmentally friendly alternative — and that’s why they’re now proposing we sip our sodas through seaweed.<\/p> Loliware has developed a straw that the company’s sustainability adviser, Daniela Saltzman, told Business Insider<\/em><\/a> “looks, feels, and acts like plastic.” However, it’s actually created out of “hyper-compostable” seaweed that biodegrades much like a banana peel on land and breaks down in weeks in water.<\/p> “A disposable product that’s built to last for centuries — i.e., a plastic straw — makes no sense,” Saltzman said, “but one that can be composted or safely biodegrades in the ocean, that’s obviously fine.”<\/p> This summer the company will begin shipping its seaweed straws to several customers, including hospitality chain Marriott and beverage company Pernod Ricard.<\/p> By the end of 2020, Loliware expects to be able to produce 30 billion straws in a variety of styles, according to a Fast Company<\/em> story<\/a>, and it’s aiming for a production cost about the same as paper straws.<\/p> Loliware isn’t the first company to produce an alternative to plastic straws, but existing options<\/a> leave much to be desired.<\/p> Reusable stainless steel straws can be a pain to clean, bamboo ones can leave a woody taste in the drinker’s mouth, and glass straws are a bad idea for klutzes prone to dropping things.<\/p> Paper straws are disposable, so that’s a benefit, but they can also become mushy quickly and cause whatever you’re drinking to taste like, well, paper<\/a>.<\/p> According to Loliware, its seaweed straws only start to turn soft after 18 hours of use. They also have a “neutral” taste, CEO Chelsea Briganti told Business Insider<\/em>, and while the straws are edible, she doesn’t recommend eating them.<\/p> “It can be eaten, but this is not a food per se, or a snack,” she said. “Don’t expect to eat your whole straw as if it’s a candy.”<\/p> READ MORE: <\/strong>These Straws Work Like Plastic, but They’re “Hyper-Compostable”<\/a> [Fast Company<\/em>]<\/p> More on plastic pollution:<\/strong> Stop Whining That Your Plastic Straws Are Disappearing. Be Glad They’re Not Ending up in Oceans.<\/a><\/em><\/p> The post Seaweed Straw “Looks, Feels, and Acts Like Plastic,” Says Startup<\/a> appeared first on Futurism<\/a>.<\/p> Read the original post: Seaweed Sippers Every day, Americans use an estimated 500 million plastic straws \u00a0\u2014 and the vast majority are ending up in landfills or oceans , where they\u2019ll likely remain for hundreds of years. Continue reading Breaking It Down<\/h2>
Grasping at Straws<\/h2>
Seaweed Straw “Looks, Feels, and Acts Like Plastic,” Says Startup<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"