Plastic straws made from trees might break down faster in nature, Massachusetts researchers find
FALMOUTH - Plastic straws are easy, convenient, and part of our takeaway culture. There have been paper substitutes out there, but they turn to mush and don't do the job. Researchers in Massachusetts are hoping to find something better.
Building a better straw
Associate scientist Collin Ward works at the environmental systems lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, focusing on how organic molecules break down in the environment. He's part of a team testing hundreds and hundreds of different plastic candidates to find both a more environmentally friendly material than petroleum based plastics, and to make them break down in nature much faster.
"You want it to stand up to the conditions that it's used in, but then if it gets leaked into nature or if it goes into a compost system it can't withstand those conditions," Ward told WBZ-TV. He said roughly 5% of all the trash you find on the shoreline are plastic straws. In other words, he's searching for a straw that will stand up to your cold brew but then quickly fall apart afterward.
Your typical plastic straw is made out of fossil fuels and will hold on in the environment for decades. Even when it does start to break down, it splinters into microplastics that can be dangerous to both humans and animals. But Ward thinks there are some misconceptions about the material and how it can be made.
Plastics made from trees
"I think a lot of people oversimplify the word 'plastic.' There are dozens and dozens of types of plastic," said Ward, who points out that their search focuses on cellulose based materials. Or in other words, plastics made from trees. When they break down, you're not left with the harmful microplastics. Instead, what remains can be thrown in your compost bin or safely break down in the water.
Ward says a standard straw and their plant-based straw are pretty much identical and consumers would not know the difference. There are plant-based straws on the market, but the one WHOI researchers are working on is still a prototype and not widely available.
Testing the new straws
To test how all the potential materials will stand up, Ward's team pumps water from Vineyard Sound directly into the lab to help mimic the true environment. A constant supply of saltwater flows over hundreds of samples for months to see how fast the process goes and which candidates are most promising. Water from the Sound also allows the team to provide the same microbes that live in the ocean, a key player in how straws and other organic materials break down.
Changing the shape of plastics
In fact, Ward believes that their largest success has come not from the change in material, but by changing the shape of straws and other plastic containers to give microbes an edge.
"We've really, really embraced this idea that you can manipulate how long a plastic article will last in the environment, not by switching the type of plastic you use, but switching sort of the shape of the plastic," explains Ward.
They use a long-standing technique called foaming, essentially the same way Styrofoam is made. By injecting gas bubbles into a now plant-based plastic, Ward can change the surface area and allow for more spots microbes can attach and attack. Using this method, his team has recently created the fastest degrading plastic they've ever measured in their lab.
The process works very similarly to our own bodies. Microbes break down food in our stomachs, and they break down materials in nature. Ward says the process tends to work faster in freshwater than saltwater, and warmer water versus cold.
Change the process, not the habits
WHOI has partnered with the materials company Eastman in Tennessee to increase production of these more environmentally friendly straws and takeaway containers. Ward tells us it's a lot easier to change the process than to change people's habits, so these innovations will be critical in creating a cleaner planet.
"National demand for straws and the global demand is only rising. It's a problem we want to get ahead of, because it's only going to get worse," he told WBZ.
Ward also wants people to take a closer look at our relationship with trash. The whole process from start to finish, and what it means not just for the health of our ecosystems but also the simple enjoyment of our time outdoors.
"This may sound weird, but I want people to think about what the trash is, where it goes, what its impacts are, and that doesn't exist right now," he said.