Is the degradable paper straw really environmentally friendly?

Mar 26, 2025

Straws are indispensable in our lives. Drink manufacturers and catering companies need straws. For example, we need straws for drinking water, beverages, milk, etc. Merchants have straws for milk cartons, beverage cartons, milk tea, coffee, soy milk, etc., so straws are too common around us.

It only takes a few minutes to use straws. When a milk tea shop sells hundreds of cups of milk tea a day, hundreds of straws are produced. These straws are buried in the ground and cannot be degraded for hundreds of years. Take care of the environment, start with me! What about degradable paper straws? Is the degradation fast? Is it harmful to the environment?

The degradable paper straw uses plant resources to extract starch. After use, it can be completely degraded by microorganisms in nature to generate carbon dioxide and water. It will not pollute the environment. It is a relatively environmentally friendly material.

Degradable paper straws can only decompose quickly in a humid and high temperature environment with many microorganisms. The degradation rate in the natural environment is much lower than that of paper straws (after all, paper straws degrade more than half of them after soaking in rain for several times). If you use ordinary garbage landfills, it takes 2-5 years for the degradable paper straws to complete degradation in the soil.

The production cost of biodegradable paper straws is 3-5 times that of plastic straws, and the cost is not too high. However, because the main material of biodegradable straws is starch, the shelf life is only one year. In addition to the limitations of technology and equipment, it is difficult to make it short. To achieve large-scale production within a time, most manufacturers can only produce first until the straw is available for business use.

Indeed, environmental protection is not something that a straw can solve, but it is something that can be started from the use of straws, from environmental straws, to environmental cups, to more environmentally friendly products in life, environmental protection is not a matter of overnight, but it is A matter of urgency.

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Identification of degradable tableware

Experts suggest that the degradable tableware can be distinguished by several methods of "one look, two smell, three tear":

At first glance, we must first see whether there is a QS logo and number on the lunch box; secondly, we must also see whether the surface of the lunch box is smooth and whether there are impurities or black spots. Generally speaking, transparent plastic lunch boxes are made of pure polypropylene (PP), which has a relatively high safety factor; brightly colored lunch boxes may use waste plastic, so the darker the color, the more unsafe.

The second touch is to feel the strength of the lunch box. The lunch box produced with recycled waste or a large amount of industrial-grade calcium carbonate and talcum powder is generally poor in strength, and it will break if you tear it lightly.

The third smell is to smell the peculiar smell of the lunch box, and the qualified lunch box cannot smell the smell.

The characteristics of the "black lunch box" can be summed up as a six-sentence jingle: the hand is soft and soft, it will break if you tear it lightly, it will cause a pungent smell, it will easily leak when heated, it will have paraffin marks when it is folded, and it will sink when it is torn into water. . As long as you remember the jingle above, you can easily distinguish whether the disposable lunch box is qualified.

Appearance of degradable tableware finished product

1. Normal color, no peculiar smell;

2. The surface is flat and clean, with uniform texture, no scratches, no wrinkles, peeling, cracks and perforations;

3. No oil, dust, mildew and other foreign matter on the surface;

4. The edges are smooth and regular. The cover with cover is convenient and flat, and the rebound cover should be unfastened.

Technical requirements for degradable tableware

It is necessary to use non-toxic, harmless, clean and non-polluting raw materials that comply with national food hygiene and environmental protection regulations and standards to make disposable degradable tableware. The following raw materials, additives, coatings and chemical agents are not allowed to make and process disposable degradable tableware:

1. Natural materials and their rough processed products that have not been decontaminated;

2. Invalidity, deterioration, mildew or contamination;

3. The content of harmful substances does not meet the hygienic standards;

4. Recycling of recycled materials;

5. Fluorescent brightener.

Green environmental protection packaging should meet three points, one is easy to recycle, the other is easy to dispose, and the third is easy to absorb, that is, it is easy to be integrated into the natural environment, but even degradable tableware cannot be achieved in a short time. Many degradation products claim that the degradation time is three to six months, but in fact, this is determined under a standard laboratory environment. In a natural environment, degradation is affected by various factors such as temperature and humidity. For example, if you put a lunch box in Where there is no water, it is difficult to degrade.” Under natural conditions, it takes at least one year for degradation products to degrade.

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