paper straws

Product Details:

Did you know that years ago, plastic straws were introduced to replace paper straws? In 1888, American inventor Marvin Chester Stone created and patented the ‘artificial straw’ using paper – as a replacement for natural rye grass straws. He wound a piece of paper around a pencil and glued the sides. Although paper straws soon gained popularity, the downside was that they would eventually disintegrate in the drink and leave a strange taste. And thus, in the 60s, plastic straws were introduced as an efficient alternative for sipping drinks.
Today, a host of countries, including some parts of India, have switched back to paper straws with all good intentions, as an eco-friendly solution to the growing plastic pollution. Paper straws are compostable and biodegradable (they take two to six weeks to decompose), but still present the same set of problems they did years ago – sogginess and the unpalatable taste of wet paper in the mouth. After a few minutes in the drink, the straw deforms into a doughy piece of paper.
This raises the question: if we use paper straws, are we unconsciously ingesting paper when sipping cocktails, iced teas and milkshakes?