Each year, there is a staggering 8 million tons of plastic finding their way into our oceans. Among these are the plastic straws that are used daily. The United States alone uses and discards about 500 million plastic straws each day, and this hugely impacts our Earth.
Most plastics are made from crude oil and are not biodegradable. Marine life can mistakenly eat them thinking they are food, which can then get lodged somewhere in their system, causing injury or death.
Young Vietnamese entrepreneur Tran Minh Tien, the founder of Ong Hut Co is creating headlines in his country for coming up with this innovative yet simple solution to eliminate one of the biggest pollutants on the planet.
The grass straws are available in two varieties – fresh and dried. At first, a bunch of the collected grass is washed and chopped into perfect 20 cm long pieces for making the straws. Using an iron rod, the inside of the stem is hollowed out and cleaned, as Tran Minh Tien described in a video shared by VnExpress International. After repeated rinsing in water, the fresh green straws are wrapped into bunches in banana leaves and are sent for the market.
The grass is greener when it becomes a straw
A Vietnamese youth is making biodegradable straws with grass that grows wild in the Mekong Delta. https://bit.ly/2I1nF0T
Posted by VnExpress International on Tuesday, March 26, 2019
While going straw-free is the most eco-friendly option, many people rely on straws or prefer them for various reasons. That said, it’s awesome that options like these wild grass straws are now on the market.
