Grass Straw Manufacturing Process
As land pollution is surging, many companies are working towards eco-friendly products. Products made from plastics have proved to be very hazardous to our environment. The companies contemplated an alternate solution to replace plastics and came up with the idea of biodegradable products. One big success has been that of “grass straws.” Below we explore how straws are made.
There came the paper straws and now the grass straws, which are even more reliable and durable than other straws. If you are wondering how is straw made? Let’s know in this article.
How To Make Straws From Grass?
A genus of the sedge family known as Lepironia has one species Leprionia Articulata. Leprionia Articulata, or gray sedge (as in the local language), is a grass straw plant grown in India, Madagascar, China and Southeast Asia.
The gray sedge has an elongated void stem, a design which deems fit for an eco-friendly straw. The idea first blossomed in the brains of the indigenous people of Vietnam, who would call the gray sedge “cobang” in their local dialect. The cobang was grown in Southwestern Vietnam.
The regional companies expanded the idea further and brought a variety of fresh and dried straws.
Straw Manufacturing Process
Following are the steps involved in the straw manufacturing process:
- It doesn’t matter whether you intend to make fresh or dried straws; the first step in the straw manufacturing process always includes the sedge grass to be grown and rinsed off.
- The second step includes chopping the grass tubes up to 8 inches long.
- The third step is the cleaning part, done by running through the iron rod that cleans off the inner surface.
- The straws are again washed to ensure the purity of the grass straws.
- To sell fresh straws, wrap them up with banana leaves. They keep the straws fresh for as long as two weeks. For better results, boil and simmer the grass straws with salt, let them dry and then consider preserving them in a cooler and drier place; it will help keep them fresh.
- For dry straws, try drying them up in the sun for several days until the leaves are thoroughly dried. Then, put them in the oven for a final touch. Finally, you can store the dry straws for half a year.
Grass manufacturing processes might need sweat and blood, but they are the best food we can feed our environment since grass straws are zero-waste straws and are not harmful.
You would not need to throw them away after sucking up juice through them but eat them along with it. Edible with zero chemicals incorporated, they are cheap and economical. The indigenous people say they also help improve oral hygiene.
