Vietnamese Man Creates Biodegradable Straws From Wild Grass To Solve World’s Plastic Problem

May 03, 2019 by apost team

Eight million pounds of plastic makes its way into the oceans of the world each year. The plastic straws we use on a daily basis is the source of some of this plastic. Five hundred million straws are discarded in America alone on a daily basis. The discarded plastic greatly affects the earth.

The majority of plastic is made with crude oil that is not biodegradable. Marine animals suffer when they mistake these items for food and the plastic becomes stuck somewhere in their internal systems. This situation often causes death or serious injury to the animal. The turtle in this video is one example of this problem.

Another concern is that plastic straws release dangerous substances like BPA into the ocean when they begin to decompose. A number of groups have formed in order to combat the damage done to the ocean by plastic straws. There are also individuals and companies who have produced alternatives to plastic straws. Some of these options are straws made of metal and rice.

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Tran Minh Tien is a Vietnamese man who came up with a novel concept. Tien demonstrated how the grass Lepironia articulata can be used to make drinking straws.

The straws made with the grass contain no chemicals or other dangerous substances and are completely biodegradable.

Tien explains how to make straws with the grass on a video he posted to Facebook. The stems of the grass are washed and cut after they are collected. A metal rod is then used to clean the inside of the straws. The grass is washed again before it is bundled and wrapped into banana leaves.

The straws are available either dried or fresh. Fresh straws will last for a week when kept at room temperature and for two weeks when refrigerated. The dried versions of the straws are placed in the sun for two to three days and can be kept for at least six months at room temperature.

The video posted by Singh has been shared 35,000 times and viewed by more than 2 million people. Many people on social media commended Singh for his efforts and credited him for bringing the world a step closer to being plastic free

Are you concerned with plastics polluting our ocean? Do you appreciate the efforts of Tran Minh Tien? Make sure your friends and family see this article and video. We should all support this effort.