Loliware, a startup company, has come up with a way to battle the excessive use of plastic in food consumption. Their concept is an environment-friendly alternative to the plastic straws that are being used all over the world right now.
Loliware guarantees the look and the feel of a regular plastic straw with their alternative. The difference is the use of seaweed in production rather than using plastic. These single-use seaweed straws are said to be hyper compostable and are compared to a banana peel which would degrade in just a few weeks in water.
The seaweed straw is a Kickstarter-funded product made of 100% food grade materials. These are non-GMO, gluten-free, and sugar-free as well. Loliware straws are said to be highly durable that it can last 18 long hours of continuous use. These seaweed straws are also edible and are sustainably developed.
Before the seaweed straws were introduced, there are also other alternatives that were adopted by some establishments. These are the use of paper straws and reusable straws made of glass or metal. However, these plastic straw alternatives have drawbacks as well. The paper straws cost thrice as much as the ordinary plastic ones. Glass and metal straws are made to last and can be reused many times over but when the time comes for their disposal, these will still further increase waste.
Loliware's seaweed straws are aiming to supply their product to high-waste venues. These include fast-food restaurants and stadiums. The straws can be stored for 24 months, can be disposed of with food waste as it has the same rate of breakdown.
In a report, the United States ends up with 170 to 390 million straws per day. Other than that, CEO Chelsea Briganti points out the five trillion pieces of plastic in the oceans and how all plastic items ever created are still existing due to their very slow degradation rate. The CEO has discussed the importance of single-use plastics that should not be to last. Instead, Briganti stated that single-use plastics should be designed to disappear after discarded.
Some companies are keen on making an effort to reduce the use of plastic in their operation. One is Trader Joe's who announced plans to replace plastic carry-out bags and Styrofoam trays with better alternatives. Another is Starbucks with its goal to phase out plastic straws by 2020.
With almost 1,100 backers, Loliware's seaweed straws raised nearly $20,000 on top of their $30,000 goal. It won't be long before the seaweed straws will be available in stores all over America.
