What is wheat straw?
Wheat straw is a new and innovative bio-plastic that can be used as an eco-friendly alternative to petroleum based plastics. Wheat straw fibre is food safe certified, BPA free and FDA approved meaning it can be used in a range of applications.
But where does wheat straw plastic come from and is it environmentally friendly?
Like traditional plastics, wheat straw is extremely lightweight and durable, making it one of several fibrous plants capable of being used as bio-plastics. But unlike plastic, wheat straw is not manufactured from fossil fuels.
Wheat straw is a type of edible grain that is used all over the world to make the foods people love such as flour, bread and wheat derived products like pasta. Wheat straw is a by-product which is often burnt after the wheat grain is harvested, by taking this waste and using it for sustainable, innovative materials and products it makes it a great zero waste solution.
Here are 7 things people should know about wheat straw:
They may be thinking, wow that’s amazing but how is wheat straw taken from a field and made into reusable products such as a wheat straw water bottle?
At the end of a farmers harvest they will sell their wheat grains to various stores and manufacturers to be turned into food, animal feed etc. They will then be left with the waste by-products, which can be burnt or sold on to sustainable manufacturers for use in bio-plastic materials.
To go from dried straw to durable material the wheat straw is firstly cleaned and vacuumed to remove all dirt and dust. Then the individual fibres of the straw are broken up in order to gain a compound called ‘lignin’. Lignin naturally occurs in plants to help with strength and staying upright.
Lignin can then be mixed with substances such as sugar to create a plastic like compound, which is mouldable into many forms, uses and shapes. Once the shape has been formed an eco-friendly dye can be added alongside some finishing touches to create a unique reusable product that can be used daily for many years to come.
What is the environmental impact of this production and is it sustainable?
As wheat straw is a by-product it is not excessively or additionally farmed, in fact it is often burnt which releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, so utilising this waste provides a great zero-waste option.
It is also important to know that as photosynthesis occurs, wheat plants extract more carbon (co2) from the air than they produce, therefore creating a carbon neutral product. This is common with many plant-based bio-plastics.
As create more new and innovative uses for bio-plastics like wheat straw people can prevent single use petrol based plastics from littering landfills and oceans and drastically reduce the amount of Co2 damaging atmosphere.
7 Fun Facts and Information About Wheat:
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