Sugarcane (a perennial herb of the sugarcane genus) is the world’s most productive crop, with 1.9 billion tons produced in 2018. Sugarcane has great potential as a renewable resource of plant fiber. According to information from relevant studies, sugarcane is one of the most efficient photosynthesis in the plant world, converting up to 1% of solar energy into biomass, compared to 0.1% to 0.4% for wheat. This means that sugarcane absorbs 10 times more greenhouse gases from the air than wheat while growing. Clearly, for protecting the environment, sugarcane is more effective.
As one of the best alternatives to plastic straws, our eco-friendly sugar cane straws are made from 100% plant-based ingredients that are biodegradable, compostable, and reusable to ensure sustainable living for everyone.
They are therefore determined to be free of the following plastics or plasticizers.
Polystyrene (PS) free
No polyethylene (PE)
No polypropylene (PP)
No polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
No polyethylene terephthalate (PET, PETE)
Our Sugarcane straws can be home composted and commercially composted to address global challenges such as plastic pollution, climate change, and unnecessary waste.
So what is composting?
Composting is a method of turning organic materials into fertile soil and has been around since the dawn of agriculture. For thousands of years, home gardeners and farmers have relied on their ability to turn waste such as food scraps, manure, leaves, grass, and straw into cheap, nutrient-rich food for their crops.
At its core, composting harnesses the power of natural decomposition in a controlled manner. Decomposing microbes, fungi, and animals use our waste as a food source and break it down into the essential building blocks of life. To make composting happen, you only need 4 ingredients.
Carbon
Nitrogen
Oxygen
Water
Oxygen and water are necessary for microorganisms to survive and multiply in order to effectively break down waste materials into compost.
Composting includes home composting and commercial composting.
Home Composting
Home Composting is relatively simple. Home composting tends to have less microbial action and therefore produces less heat compared to commercial composting. This means that certain materials (such as PLA bioplastics) do not break down as easily.
Our straws can be completely broken down to carbon dioxide, water and biomass under home composting conditions without releasing any toxins into the soil. Therefore it is an environmentally friendly straw that is completely harmless to our environment.
Commercial Composting
Commercial composting is a much larger scale operation than typical home composting. It uses machines to grind, aerate and sift the compost to achieve a higher rate and consistency than home composting. Due to the ideal composting environment in commercial facilities, they are able to break down items that do not readily break down in a home composting environment.
This means they can break down within 12 weeks and show at least 90% absolute biodegradation within 6 months – far better than other plastics, which can take over 1,000 years. Commercial composting environments use heavy machinery to process large volumes of compost at a time.
Therefore, our sugarcane straws can be composted commercially as well as at home without cutting down trees, making them very environmentally friendly and an ideal solution to replace plastic straws.
