Estonian company Suckors uses common beach reeds to make 100% biodegradable and reusable straws.
Estonian company Suckõrs uses simple beach reeds to make 100% biodegradable and reusable straws.
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The raw material is extracted from the reeds that grow spontaneously on the shores of Estonia. Harvesting these plants cleans up coastal areas and improves the growing conditions of many local species. According to Kersti Partelpoja, marketing manager of Suckõrs, the supply will never run out:
It doesn't matter how much we cut, because the plants grow back every year
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Furthermore, common reed, being a local resource for the company, reduces the ecological footprint of transport and is therefore, from this point of view, much more advantageous than other biodegradable materials such as bamboo.
Once harvested, the canes are processed by hand and transformed into straws without the use of additives. The same product can be used up to 40 times. Once its function is over, the straw is thrown away and decays naturally.
Beautiful and resistant, the wood is not only not treated with chemicals, but in its appearance it is shaped only by the sun and the wind. As Partelpoja tells Reuters, each straw is unique:
Each straw is totally unique, it's like a snowflake
In essence, Suckõrs straws have little or no impact on the climate. Furthermore, when handled responsibly, these cane items are completely biodegradable, retain high functionality and can reduce global waste pollution caused by the use of synthetic materials.
Ecological and functional, this product adapts to any type of hot or cold drink, without altering the taste of the liquid.
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With the aim of being increasingly sustainable, the company is currently working on the development of a biocomposite material made of cane waste, in order to produce plates, glasses and other disposable products.
Up to now the company has produced straws by hand, but in the coming months it plans to automate the process; this also means producing more and therefore reducing the cost of the product, so as to have a greater diffusion on the market.
Initiatives such as that of Suckõrs can really contribute to solving the global problem of plastic waste, thanks to the use of what nature offers and in full respect of the environment.
Read also:
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- Plastic straws: 5 great reasons to never use them again
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