Thanh Truc and Thanh Duyen (from left to right) introduce straws made from coconut leaves and banana leaves – Photo: CONG TRIEU
After a year and a half of brainstorming and experimenting, the Green Future group of five friends, Thanh Duyen, Thao Ngan, Thanh Ngan, Hong Nhung and Thanh Truc (all students at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade), created a fairly good straw made from leaves that can replace plastic straws.
Made from leaves that are usually discarded
Thanh Duyen – leader of Green Future – said that creating a friendly and environmentally friendly product is the group’s goal. The group’s name Green Future also comes from that determination.
About 8 million tons of plastic waste ends up in the ocean every year. According to a 2018 study by the American Marine Research Association, as many as 8.3 billion plastic straws pollute nearly every beach in the world .
Even though straws only account for 0.025% of that, they still get attention and mention from environmental campaigns.
The movement to ban plastic straws started early and spread to many countries and regions around the world, further demonstrating the terrible harm of plastic straws to the environment.
The environmental impact of plastic straws is quite clear, but their convenience and cheap price are big challenges for an alternative product.
The types of straws currently available on the market, considered environmentally friendly and made from paper, sedge, bamboo, stainless steel or biological materials, are all priced many times higher than plastic straws.
“A plastic straw costs just over 110 VND, making it popular. So even though the product I make is guaranteed to be environmentally friendly, the high price makes it difficult to convince the majority of users,” Duyen said.
To solve the difficult problem of cheap raw materials, the group immediately thought of leaves. Specifically, coconut leaves and banana leaves have large, long leaves and high durability. Experimenting and seeing the immediate results, the group was so happy that they wanted to scream.
Duyen said that if mass production is carried out, the group can buy fresh coconut leaves and banana leaves for 7,500 VND/kg, while dried leaves will be more expensive.
The group has surveyed this price and many farmers in Long An and Ben Tre have agreed. If they don't sell, they don't know what to do other than cut it down and dry it to make fire.
The group is confident that if costs are optimized and industrial production is carried out, the price of straws made from coconut leaves and banana leaves will be competitive with plastic straws - Photo: CONG TRIEU
Can replace plastic straws in terms of price
The initial experiment was successful, but a new challenge arose when it was necessary to find an adhesive that would ensure the health of the user even when soaked in water.
Thanh Duyen said that if biological straws are soaked in water, they will decompose after 3 hours at most.
The group has researched a glue formula that ensures adhesion, safety for users' health, and can last up to 6 hours when soaked in water.
Because it comes later in the group of environmentally friendly green straws, the product needs to be different.
Instead of grinding the ingredients and molding them as usual, you set the requirement that the straw must retain the original leaves.
Users can easily recognize the straws as being made from banana or coconut leaves. Glue and shaping were two challenges that made the team have a headache for 6 months. These are the things that make the product successful, like an exclusive secret to increase the toughness and elasticity of the product.
Thanh Duyen said that they are completing the application for intellectual property protection for the product. They are confident that they can expand the production scale of straws from leaves, initially nearly 145,000 boxes per year.
This is just a number calculated based on the capacity of a student startup project. If there is a factory and large-scale machinery, the number will be much larger.
The price of each box of 20 leaf straws is currently 10,000 VND, equivalent to 500 VND/ straw (bio-based straws on the market are currently around 700 - 1,200 VND/ straw). This price still does not satisfy the group, especially with the goal of reaching all customers and shops because it is still higher than plastic straws.
But do you believe that if you buy raw materials in large quantities, optimize the transportation process, industrial production... the price of leaf straws can completely compete with plastic straws.
The Green Future project has just won second prize in the 5th "Industry and Trade Students with Startup Ideas" contest in 2024, recently organized by Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade.
With leaf processing and glue technology, the group is also researching the production of bowls and plates from leaves. The project is considered to bring safety to customers.
The product has unlimited scope of use, is biodegradable, and is in line with the trend of interest in the beverage and food industry, especially in the context of sustainable growth and environmental protection.
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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ong-hut-tu-la-kho-cua-cac-co-gai-tre-canh-tranh-gia-voi-ong-hut-nhua-20241008144146599.htm
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