Show your customers that you are committed to going green with these Eco-Friendly compostable unwrapped natural drinking straws. Made from PLA, or “corn plastic”, a 100% renewable resource, these eco-friendly straws are sure to reduce your business’ carbon footprint.
What am I Made from?
I am made from PLA (polyacticacid), which is a fancy word for starch from mielie cobs and other plant sources.
I am naturally a opaque white color but by using vegetable and/or fruit extracts, I can be changed to any other natural color.
Why use me?
I am certified 100% biodegradable & compostable. This means that when I am thrown away and start to decompose I also feed the environment around me.
I am not marine degradable (water soluble), like my other family member that is made from paper, but will break down in the ocean, but this process does not happen overnight.
My degradation period. How long I take to compose (disappear)
Under optimal conditions I take around 9 – 12 weeks to disappear. This process happens when I am in a commercial composting facility, where all sorts of bacteria can gobble me up.
At home, where it is not so optimal conditions it may take slightly longer…
“Some end products made with 100% Ingeo, depending on the application, will compost in municipal/industrial facilities according to ISO, ASTM, and EN regulations, and Ingeo resin is certified appropriately. All final products made from Ingeo must undergo their own compost ability testing. The number of industrial composting facilities is currently limited and may not be available near you. However, the development of such facilities is growing internationally.Ingeo biopolymer is made primarily of polylactic acid (PLA), a repeating chain of lactic acid, which undergoes a 2-step degradation process.First, the moisture and heat in the compost pile split the polymer chains apart, creating smaller polymers, and finally, lactic acid.Microorganisms in compost and soil consume the smaller polymer fragments and lactic acid as nutrients. Since lactic acid is widely found in nature, a large number of organisms metabolize lactic acid. The end result of composting is carbon dioxide, water and humus, a soil nutrient. This degradation process is temperature and humidity dependent.” – NatureWorks.com
How is BioStraws made (developing process):
The plants are put through a milling process extracting the starch (glucose).
Enzymes are added to convert the glucose to dextrose via a process called hydrolysis (Hydrolysis usually means the cleavage of chemical bonds by the addition of water). Microorganisms then ferment this dextrose into lactic acid (Lactic acid is an organic compound with the formula CH₃CHCOOH. In its solid state, it is white and water-soluble. In its liquid state, it is colorless. It is produced both naturally and synthetically) Lactic acid molecules are then formed into rings of lactides.
In the process of polymerization, the lactide ring is opened and linked together to form the long chain of polylactide polymer we call Ingeo. We form this long chain of Ingeo PLA into pellets that are shipped aroundthe world to our customers and partners who transform them into awide-range of innovative products including coffee capsules, yogurtcups, baby wipes, and straws.
Where it Goes
We are in the process of developing our BioBins which will help with the developed vision for disposal & recycling of products made from Ingeo (PLA). Yet all products have a certain complex recycling process and it is up to the end user to take responsibility for their waste, to lower the impact on the environment.
| Size | 6mm x 210mm |
| Color | Natural |
| Quantity in pack | 100 units |