In recent years, the trend of using natural and environmentally friendly products has become a habit of most modern consumers. Many restaurants, eateries and cafes have replaced plastic straws with grass straws, paper straws, etc., bringing many positive aspects.

I. What is a grass straw?

The straw-type grass straws are made from eagle grass, a plant commonly grown in the Mekong Delta. Eagle grass has a hollow stem and a length of 1.5m to 2m, so it is easy to apply in production. The hollow body makes the processing of the hollow core less labor intensive, but still ensures very good water and food absorption. The length of the grass is suitable for the production of the standard length of the straw which is 20cm.

Another outstanding feature of this type of straw is the completely natural source of eagle grass. This grass also has the ability to grow and grow very easily, very quickly. Just drop the root in the environment flooded with alum, rain or shine, in 1 and a half years the tree can be harvested for production.

Eagle grass is very hardy even in hot or cold water, without any deformation. It is very suitable as a straw for both cold drinks or hot drinks, overcoming the disadvantages of paper straws.

The raw materials of eagle grass can create two types of straws from grass: straws from fresh eagle grass and straws from dried eagle grass:

Straws from fresh eagle grass: The color of this type is the original green, yellow-brown of the plant. Before using, the grass will be dried without drying. This tube has a short storage time of 1-3 days under normal temperature conditions. And from 4 to 30 days at a storage temperature of 4-7 degrees. However, the price of this type of straw from fresh eagle grass is quite cheap.

Straws from dried eagle grass: The color of this type is only yellow-brown, lighter green. At this time, the grass will be dried and dried, so the preservation time is long. Normally, it lasts for 180 days at room temperature and up to 450 days at 4-7 degrees. But the finished product price of this type of hay straw will be almost twice as high as the fresh one.

II. Advantages of using a grass straw

2.1. Environmental protection

Contributing to environmental protection is the top advantage when using this straw. As we all know, today the environment is being destroyed extremely seriously. Every year, people release hundreds to millions of tons of waste into the environment. The amount of waste is mainly plastic, difficult to decompose, it takes hundreds, even thousands of years to decompose. The use of natural materials contributes a lot to those toxic wastes.

Therefore, the replacement of using straws from eagle grass – a natural material is one of the great contributions to the environment of Vietnam in particular and the world in general. For those in the F&B industry, too, if you are a restaurant owner who always wants to give customers a green lifestyle and want to make a big contribution to environmental protection, then replacing the straw Plastic is essential. In addition, your restaurant is also easier to attract customers, especially Gen Z generations who always love the environment and aim for a green life.

2.2. Protect the health of diners when using

The plastic straw contains a lot of microplastics, additives and food colorings. Continuous daily use will make the human body suffer a great deal. This will give rise to a number of diseases such as hormone changes, increased risk of cancer, infertility and even gastrointestinal and intestinal infections.

For children, overuse of plastic straws will lead to retarded brain development and affect the baby’s later development.

However, replacing plastic straws with grass straws can reduce that potential by up to 99%. The health of customers is more assured, making restaurant owners more secure in doing business.

In addition, a very good advantage of this straw is that when used with hot drinks, customers can freely use a straw, without endangering their health or affecting the taste of the drink.

III. Defect

3.1. High cost compared to some other types of straws (plastic straws, paper straws)

3.2. Limited with certain drinks

Another disadvantage of this type of straw is that it can only be used once when used with some drinks. At that time, it will be easily damaged right away, so you can only use it as fertilizer for plants, but it cannot be recycled.

3.3. Difficult to produce and distribute widely