Tackling plastic pollution and unemployment in rural areas at once, Dr Saji Varghese, a professor at Christ University, Bangalore has innovated straws made of fallen coconut fronds. These straws, that have a shelf life of nine months and can hold themselves in drinks for up to six hours, are made by women from communities of rural areas in South India.
A chemical-free process, Dr Varghese capitalises on the natural wax of the coconut frond coming to its surface after it has been pressurised with steam. The alternative to plastic straws that are hence formed from these leaflets is hydrophobic and also safe for humans to use.
In conversation with The New Indian Express, Dr Varghese explains that a singular coconut frond can produce 600 straws of diameter 3-13 mm. The report also states that he sent samples of these all-natural straws to ten countries including the USA, the UK, Malaysia, Spain, the Philippines and more. He has received an order of 10 million straws that were sent by end of January, earlier this year.
These straws, that are made from zero-cost raw materials and can be produced on a high scale, are available in two forms. One is the regular-use straw and the other, the smaller one, includes the midrib of the leaf, which allows easy piercing of tetra packs.
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