Feeling di-STRAW-t over ocean pollution? Listen up.
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Plastic straws degrade slowly in landfills and the ocean, far outliving their single use. Biodegradable straws have become more popular. But are they really ocean-friendly?
Bryan James and team from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution investigated.
They submerged commercially-available straws in flowing seawater. After sixteen weeks, biodegradable straws lost twenty-five to fifty percent of their initial weight! Traditional plastic and organic source plastic showed no changes whatsoever!
Estimating disintegration rates, researchers think plastics could take YEARS. But straws made from paper, cellulose, or fermented sugars only need ten to twenty months!
Finally, researchers wondered if they could further improve biodegradable materials. To replace solid cellulose, they created foam cellulose. When tested, foam cellulose was projected to disintegrate within eight months! The fastest yet AND it wasn’t soggy as a straw!
Biodegradable straws make a difference and can be further improved!
Finally, a straw that WON’T break the ocean’s back.
Reference: James, B.D. et al. Strategies to reduce the environmental lifetimes of drinking straws in the coastal ocean. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Article (2024). https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c07391