A new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report found that 460 million tonnes of plastics were used in 2019, the number nearly doubling since 2000.The amount of plastic waste had more than doubled during that time to 353 million tonnes, the Paris-based OECD said.

“After taking into account losses during recycling, only nine percent of plastic waste was ultimately recycled, while 19 percent was incinerated and almost 50 percent went to sanitary landfills,” it said in its Global Plastics Outlook.

“The remaining 22 percent was disposed of in uncontrolled dumpsites, burned in open pits or leaked into the environment.”

The Covid-19 pandemic saw the use of plastics drop by 2.2 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year. However single-use plastics rose and overall use is “projected to pick up again” as the economy rebounds.

Plastics contributed 3.4 percent of global greenhouse emissions in 2019, 90 percent of it from “production and conversion from fossil fuels”, the report said.

In the face of rampant global warming and pollution, it is “crucial that countries respond to the challenge with coordinated and global solutions”, OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said in the report.

The OECD proposed a series of “levers” to address the issue, including developing the market for recycled plastics, which only represent six percent of the total — largely because they are more expensive.

It added that new technologies related to decreasing the environmental footprint of plastic represented only 1.2 percent of all innovation concerning the product.

While calling for “a more circular plastics lifecycle”, the OECD said that policies must also restrain overall consumption.

It also called for “major investments in basic waste management infrastructure”, including 25 billion euros ($28 billion) a year to go towards efforts in low and middle-income countries.

Plastic treaty talks

The report comes less than a week before the UN Environment Assembly begins on February 28 in Nairobi, where formal talks are expected to begin on a future international plastics treaty, the scope of which will be discussed.

Shardul Agrawala, the head of the OECD’s environment and economy integration division, said Tuesday’s report “further accentuates the need for countries to come together to start looking towards a global agreement to address this very important problem”.

Asked about the priorities of the treaty to be discussed in Nairobi, she said that “there is an urgent waste management problem which is responsible for the bulk of the leakage to the environment”.

“But we should not limit our focus just to the end of pipe solutions, there is a greater need in the long term to forge international cooperation and agreement towards alignment of standards,” she told an online press briefing Monday.

In a survey published Tuesday by polling firm Ipsos for the World Wildlife Fund, 88 percent of respondents stressed the importance of an international treaty to combat plastic pollution.

In the 28 countries surveyed, 23 percent of the respondents said such a treaty was “fairly important”, 31 percent said it was “very important” and 34 percent found it “essential”.

Source:
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220222-only-nine-percent-of-plastic-recycled-worldwide-oecd-1

The post Agence France-Presse (AFP) appeared first on Eco Glass Straws.

The percentage of people calling for bans is up from 71% since 2019, while those who said they favoured products with less plastic packaging rose to 82% from 75%, according to the IPSOS poll of more than 20,000 people across 28 countries.

Activists say the results send a clear message to governments meeting in Nairobi this month to press ahead with an ambitious treaty to tackle plastic waste, a deal being touted as the most important environmental pact since the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015.

“People worldwide have made their views clear,” said Marco Lambertini, WWF International’s director general. “The onus and opportunity is now on governments to adopt a global plastics treaty … so we can eliminate plastic pollution.”

Nearly 90% of those surveyed said they supported a treaty, but it remains to be seen whether any such deal will focus on waste collection and recycling or take more radical measures such as curbing production and use of throwaway plastics.

Reuters revealed last week that big oil and chemical industry groups were devising strategies to persuade conference participants to reject any deal that would limit production of plastic, which is made from oil and gas and a key source of their revenues.

If the United Nations cannot agree on a deal to put the brakes on plastic pollution, there will be widespread ecological damage over the coming decades, putting some marine species at risk of extinction and destroying sensitive ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves, according to a WWF study released this month.

It is likely to take at least two years to finalise any treaty. But whatever is agreed at the Nairobi conference from Feb. 28 to March 2 will determine key elements of any deal.

The biggest support for single-use plastic bans in the poll came from the likes of Colombia, Mexico and India, developing countries at the sharp end of a waste crisis.

The IPSOS poll also showed that 85% of respondents globally want manufacturers and retailers to be held responsible for reducing, reusing and recycling plastic packaging, up from 80% previously.

The post Reuters appeared first on Eco Glass Straws.

From seaweed to sugarcane, companies race to find the next great plastic replacement

Making Sen$eSep 28, 2018 10:35 AM EDT

Craig Graffius began selling his handmade glass straws at farmers markets. Now, Eco-Glass Straws, founded in the small town of Hood River, Oregon, has upgraded to a high-tech machine that pumps out 2,000 straws an hour, 16 times faster than the handmade process.

Even with the advanced technology, he still has to turn away international orders for millions of straws.

“Literally overnight, our company just blew up,” Graffius said.

Plastic production in 2016 equaled the weight of 4 million blue whales.

The surge in alternative, reusable products is a reaction to increased scrutiny surrounding plastics, and plastic straws in particular. Small businesses are scrambling to meet the demand from consumers as well as industries and local governments.

Starbucks is replacing its straws with recyclable plastic sipping lids. McDonald’s is testing out a switch from plastic to paper straws in some U.S. locations. And many cities are banning businesses from using plastic straws altogether. California became the first state to do so this month, though it makes an exception for customers who ask for them because some people with disabilities need straws to drink.

To be clear, straws are only a tiny portion of the total plastic the world produces and throws away. They have become targets because they are easier to eliminate than other plastics. They fall through the cracks, literally, because they are too small to go through the recycling process. And videos showing straws harming animals have gone viral.

Eco-Glass Straws has seen a spike in demand for its product in recent months. The company is turning away international orders for millions of straws as it tries to keep up with domestic demand. Photo courtesy: Eco-Glass Straws

Still, they are symbolic of the larger non-recyclable plastic problem, while their elimination is suggestive of a broader solution to that problem. And it’s a metastasizing problem.

Researchers, led by University of California Santa Barbara industrial ecologist Roland Geyer, estimate plastic production grew from 2 million metric tons in 1950 to 422 million metric tons in 2016.

“That’s more than the weight of 4 million blue whales,” Geyer said.

The environmental incentives for finding alternatives to plastics are clear, but there are economic ones as well.

By 2020, the plastics market is expected to be worth $654 billion globally, according to Grand View Research. Even if alternatives to plastics take a small part of that market share, there is plenty of money to be made.

The bioplastics market alone, which includes biodegradable plastics made from plant material, is already valued at $17.5 billion and is expected to grow to $35.5 billion by 2022, according to Zion Market Research.

“Some of the more forward-thinking private equity businesses are looking in this space,” said Debbie Hitchen, the director of waste and resource sustainability at the consultancy firm Anthesis Group. And impact investment funds with an aim toward social and environmental issues are likely to be investing early.

More than a few firms are already taking the leap.

THE DIFFICULT TASK OF SCALING UP

Aardvark, the only maker of paper straws in the U.S., was recently acquired by Hoffmaster, a major distributor of tableware.

Eco-Glass Straws co-founder Graffius said investors have now shown interest in his company too. “We had to walk away kindly,” said Graffius, “because they were wanting to be a shark.”

But other companies have found that investment sharks are exactly what they needed.

“It’s simply not OK that we produce billions of straws that are used for 28 minutes but last forever.”

Chelsea Briganti went on the ABC show Shark Tank in 2015 seeking investment in her business, Loliware, which made edible cups. Investor Mark Cuban extended an offer.

Loliware has since switched focus from cups, and instead plans to roll out a line of edible straws made from seaweed later this year. Briganti’s catch phrase: “disposable and designed to disappear.”

“It’s simply not only OK that we produce billions of straws that are used for 28 minutes but last forever,” she said.

Loliware has been meeting with businesses around the world. They have already made a deal with Marriott.

NOT ALL PLASTICS ALTERNATIVES ARE CREATED EQUAL

Even with the hype surrounding these products, however, stakeholders realize plastics are unlikely to be replaced entirely. We see in our lives every day how plastic is used in a wide variety of essential modern-day products, from medical devices to airplanes. Plastics help prevent food waste by preserving food that is shipped across the world.

Plastics “are the right solution for some things,” Hitchens said, and sometimes “they have the lower carbon footprint than the alternative.”

What do consumers need to know about plastic alternatives coming onto the market? They’re not all created equal.

Not all of those products “are going to be compostable. They’re not all going to be recyclable. They’re not going to be biodegradable,” said David Luttenberger, the global packaging director for the marketing research company Mintel.

LEGO is beginning to create building blocks using plant-based materials in a move away from traditional plastics. Photo courtesy: LEGO

Lego, for example, recently announced it would begin making building blocks using bioplastic, made from Brazilian sugarcane.

The move was praised by many as a more sustainable alternative, but others criticized the new material for not being biodegradable and warned of unintended consequences such as the displacement of local farmers to grow the raw materials.

Such criticisms suggest businesses need to take caution in how they market their products as eco-friendly.

“Consumers aren’t going to give [businesses] extra credit for doing the right thing” as environmentally conscious products become the expectation, Luttenberger said.

But as they try to tackle the enormous plastics problem, businesses need to start somewhere, even if it’s a step as small as one reusable straw.
Find all of the stories in our series, The Plastic Problem.

Source:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/making-sense/seaweed-straws-sugarcane-lego-blocks-and-the-plastic-substitute-boom?dj

The post PBS NewsHour appeared first on Eco Glass Straws.

“I love our state. I cherish this clean, green state and enjoy going out to the coast… I am just sick of throwing things away, sick of plastic.”

As someone who has spent almost 30 years in Oregon, Craig Graffius has seen the changes that this beautiful state has undergone. Ready with a design for his EcoGlass straw 8 years ago, Craig says we are now entering a time where plastic is a thing of the past and the world is looking for alternatives. “Just in the last century everything has become plastic and now we are really seeing the repercussions of that.” From small beginnings selling his straws at a farmers market, Craig is now sending his straws out across the globe, with requests from countries such as Argentina, Australia, and Japan. Craig has been in the glass industry for over 30 years, but glass straws was not something that was always on his mind. “In the early days, my children were the reason I began making glass straws. We were buying and throwing away tons of plastic straws.” Now, Craig’s family, who is troubled by the trash-scattered beaches they witness when they visit family in Hawaii, say at this point they’re just done with single-use plastic.“Plastic sucks because a lot of it is meant to be used and then thrown away. Glass is the best alternative material for straws out there.” EcoGlass straws are made from Pirex glass tubing which is heated, colored, and shaped into beautiful and durable straws. Craig boasts of a product meant for longevity. His straws can withstand extreme temperatures, are dishwasher and microwave safe, hypoallergenic, and do not breakdown or leach chemicals when met with acidic foods or years of washing.

A lot of the criticism surrounding the movement to ban plastic straws comes from people who are worried that a ban on straws will prove to be harmful for individuals who might require a straw to eat and drink. Craig Graffius says the goal of EcoGlass straws is to protect the environment from plastic pollution while also addressing accessibility for those with special needs who require a straw daily to eat and drink. He is setting his sights on hospitals and medical supply companies in an effort to move them away from plastic straws and towards glass instead.
As an Oregonian and a surfer, Craig says the Pacific Ocean and the Oregon Coast are a part of him. “I love our state. I cherish this clean, green state and enjoy going out to the coast. Again, I am just sick of throwing things away, sick of plastic.” Craig believes that now that we can look back and see what we have done by creating a single-use, disposable world, we can move in the right direction to change the ways things are. “Most people have never seen a glass straw. Now the public is loving the idea of it. I am so blessed and privileged that this is all finally coming together.”

Source:
https://oregoniansagainstwaste.com/2018/08/20/craig-graffius/

The post Oregonians Against Waste appeared first on Eco Glass Straws.

Today, his tiny four-person shop in Hood River is gearing up to turn out 2,000 handcrafted glass straws an hour. That’s up from the current pace of 125 an hour, or 1,000 a day.

EcoGlass’s surging output underscores a wave of change sweeping through the supply chain as the straw emerges as a central symbol of the world’s plastic trash crisis. With consumers searching for greener options, companies from Starbucks Corp. to McDonald’s Corp. to MGM Resorts International are responding.

“Everybody’s got to find a replacement,” said Graffius, who said he has seen orders more than triple in the past year after a long struggle to convince buyers his wares were more than just a novelty. “We didn’t anticipate this happening. We were going to really hit the market.” But instead, “it’s hitting us.”

Plastic straws are just one example of how companies are being forced to adapt to changing public attitudes about the environment. For some, abandoning traditional plastic raises costs, threatens sales and forces uncomfortable conversations with customers. Others see an opportunity for new business with the rise in demand for alternatives.

The furor dates to a viral 2015 video of marine biologists pulling a straw from deep inside the nose of a sea turtle. Then in 2017 the “Strawless in Seattle” campaign motivated cities to take action. The public outcry escalated to the point McDonald’s, Starbucks and MGM have vowed to phase out their reliance on plastic straws globally. American Airlines Group Inc. said Tuesday it would replace plastic straws and stir sticks with more “eco-friendly” straw and bamboo options. Alaska Air Group Inc. said in May it would phase out single-use plastic straws.

Portland moves ahead with likely ban on plastic straws

Portland is all but certain to ban plastic straws after a City Council vote Wednesday.

While straws account for just .03 percent of the 8 million metric tons of plastic that enters the ocean each year, according to a 2015 study, the disturbing images refocused the world’s attention on the problem.

“The anti-single-use-plastic movement is much bigger than those who identify as environmentalists,” said Maisie Ganzler, brand chief for Bon Appetit Management Co., a food-service chain that on May 31 said it would stop using traditional plastic straws. “When people see the photographic evidence of the amount of plastic pollution in our oceans and in the bodies of birds, fish, turtles and whales, it’s stomach-turning no matter what your politics are.”

In recent months, countries in Europe have begun announcing bans or limits. As of July 1, Seattle became the first major U.S. city to outlaw plastic straws, following similar measures by smaller towns along the East and West Coasts. Even where laws haven’t changed, the public outcry is pressuring companies to respond or risk alienating customers. That pressure travels up and down the supply chain.

Best Diamond Plastics co-founder and President Mark Tolliver has grown his straw-making business to more than 70 employees from the five he started with in 2008, in large part thanks to his first major customer: McDonald’s. Now his 73,000 square-foot plant in Chicago churns out plastic implements for customers including five big fast-food companies.

Tolliver started talking with McDonald’s about more environmentally friendly options a few years ago as concerns about plastic trash gained traction. That sent him searching for a solution that wouldn’t turn his growing business upside down. Competing against a range of entirely different materials, such as glass, paper or metal, Best Diamond decided to stick with the material it knew best, but engineer it to quickly decompose.

Tolliver teamed up with Smart Plastic Technologies in Knoxville, Tennessee, where CEO Tim Murtaugh found success in recent years selling an additive that makes plastic grocery bags biodegradable, and has now adjusted the product to work for straws.

In the last six months, the drive for an alternative became more urgent as he heard from all five of his big fast-food customers. McDonald’s announced last month it would be replacing plastic straws with paper in the U.K. and Ireland by 2019, and would start testing substitutes in the U.S., as well.

Murtaugh says he’s seen a tenfold increase in inquiries for his additive so far this year, including from many larger companies. “We’ve drawn their attention, they’re impressed with our technology, and we are now in what I would call the final phase of conversation about it,” he said.

Many plastic substitutes come with their own set of environmental problems, said Murtaugh. Paper straws have more carbon emissions when the entire manufacturing process is considered, and plant-based bioplastics are tricky because they won’t break down if they’re not composted correctly, he said. Reuseable glass straws can be difficult to clean and are significantly more expensive up front.

Nonetheless, those products are also seeing demand surge in the wake of the plastic straw controversy.

The largest U.S. paper straw maker, Aardvark Straws, can’t keep up with the flood of new orders, leaving some customers to wait three months for their orders to be filled.

Eco-Products Inc., which supplies food-service giants such as US Foods Holdings Corp. and Sysco Corp., has seen demand for its compostable straws double in the last six months.

When he was first getting EcoGlass off the ground, Graffius spent years traveling to craft shows and conferences handing out free samples of his glass straws to drum up business. But people still viewed them as a gimmick. “I spent a lot of money and I pretty much got nowhere,” he recalled.

Graffius abandoned his marketing efforts and refocused on making his straws. He imports shatter-resistant glass from Germany and then hand-shapes and polishes it into smooth, dishwasher-safe drinking tubes “almost equal to the silverware that’s in your drawer.”

He sells his straws direct through his company website and in bulk to a distributor, Foods Alive Inc., based in Angola, Indiana. Foods Alive repackages and sells the straws to several hundred retail stores, juice bars and consumers. The distributor has seen sales jump by 30 percent from last year, and now markets the EcoGlass product to individuals, too, packaged with a carrying case and cleaning brush, said Matt Alvord, one of the company’s founders.

EcoGlass’s phone started ringing more often a couple years ago after the turtle video stirred more awareness about how plastic trash was harming the environment.

A local restaurant, Pelinti Pizza, is among the new customers stocking EcoGlass straws. Owner Gabriel Head says customers have been “overwhelmingly positive,” with many thanking him for providing an option other than plastic.

“People who care, get it,’ he said.

As demand took off over the past year, EcoGlass has been able to cut prices by almost half, with the wholesale price now ranging from $1 to $1.50 per straw, depending on style. Compare that to a box of 100 disposable plastic bendy straws that retails for $5.99 on Amazon.com, or about six cents apiece. Graffius is finishing work on a machine that will drastically speed up the cutting and polishing process. He expects an average 1,890 straws an hour to roll off the assembly line by next month, which will allow him to cut prices even more.

Meanwhile the glassmaker is hearing from new customers every day, ranging from hospitals to hotels, as the plastic backlash accelerates.
“It’s exciting,” Graffius said. His business started with a simple, environmentally friendly product that was ahead of its time, “and now everything’s catching up.”

Source:
https://www.oregonlive.com/today/2018/07/tiny_hood_river_shop_ecoglass.html

The post The Oregonian, OregonLive appeared first on Eco Glass Straws.

Today, his tiny four-person shop in Hood River, Oregon, is gearing up to turn out 2,000 handcrafted glass straws an hour. That’s up from the current pace of 125 an hour, or 1,000 a day.

EcoGlass’s surging output underscores a wave of change sweeping through the supply chain as the straw emerges as a central symbol of the world’s plastic trash crisis. With consumers searching for greener options, companies from Starbucks Corp. to McDonald’s Corp. to MGM Resorts International are responding.

“Everybody’s got to find a replacement,” said Graffius, who said he has seen orders more than triple in the past year after a long struggle to convince buyers his wares were more than just a novelty. “We didn’t anticipate this happening. We were going to really hit the market.” But instead, “it’s hitting us.”

Plastic straws are just one example of how companies are being forced to adapt to changing public attitudes about the environment. For some, abandoning traditional plastic raises costs, threatens sales and forces uncomfortable conversations with customers. Others see an opportunity for new business with the rise in demand for alternatives.

The furor dates to a viral 2015 video of marine biologists pulling a straw from deep inside the nose of a sea turtle. Then in 2017 the “Strawless in Seattle” campaign motivated cities to take action. The public outcry escalated to the point McDonald’s, Starbucks and MGM have vowed to phase out their reliance on plastic straws globally. American Airlines Group Inc. said Tuesday it would replace plastic straws and stir sticks with more “eco-friendly” straw and bamboo options. Alaska Air Group Inc. said in May it would phase out single-use plastic straws.

While straws account for just .03 percent of the 8 million metric tons of plastic that enters the ocean each year, according to a 2015 study, the disturbing images refocused the world’s attention on the problem.

“The anti-single-use-plastic movement is much bigger than those who identify as environmentalists,” said Maisie Ganzler, brand chief for Bon Appetit Management Co., a food-service chain that on May 31 said it would stop using traditional plastic straws. “When people see the photographic evidence of the amount of plastic pollution in our oceans and in the bodies of birds, fish, turtles and whales, it’s stomach-turning no matter what your politics are.”

In recent months, countries in Europe have begun announcing bans or limits. As of July 1, Seattle became the first major U.S. city to outlaw plastic straws, following similar measures by smaller towns along the East and West Coasts. Even where laws haven’t changed, the public outcry is pressuring companies to respond or risk alienating customers. That pressure travels up and down the supply chain.

Best Diamond Plastics co-founder and President Mark Tolliver has grown his straw-making business to more than 70 employees from the five he started with in 2008, in large part thanks to his first major customer: McDonald’s. Now his 73,000 square-foot plant in Chicago churns out plastic implements for customers including five big fast-food companies.

Tolliver started talking with McDonald’s about more environmentally friendly options a few years ago as concerns about plastic trash gained traction. That sent him searching for a solution that wouldn’t turn his growing business upside down. Competing against a range of entirely different materials, such as glass, paper or metal, Best Diamond decided to stick with the material it knew best, but engineer it to quickly decompose.

Tolliver teamed up with Smart Plastic Technologies in Knoxville, Tennessee, where CEO Tim Murtaugh found success in recent years selling an additive that makes plastic grocery bags biodegradable, and has now adjusted the product to work for straws.

In the last six months, the drive for an alternative became more urgent as he heard from all five of his big fast-food customers. McDonald’s announced last month it would be replacing plastic straws with paper in the U.K. and Ireland by 2019, and would start testing substitutes in the U.S., as well.

Murtaugh says he’s seen a tenfold increase in inquiries for his additive so far this year, including from many larger companies. “We’ve drawn their attention, they’re impressed with our technology, and we are now in what I would call the final phase of conversation about it,” he said.

Many plastic substitutes come with their own set of environmental problems, said Murtaugh. Paper straws have more carbon emissions when the entire manufacturing process is considered, and plant-based bioplastics are tricky because they won’t break down if they’re not composted correctly, he said. Reuseable glass straws can be difficult to clean and are significantly more expensive up front.

Nonetheless, those products are also seeing demand surge in the wake of the plastic straw controversy.

The largest U.S. paper straw maker, Aardvark Straws, can’t keep up with the flood of new orders, leaving some customers to wait three months for their orders to be filled.

Eco-Products Inc., which supplies food-service giants such as US Foods Holdings Corp. and Sysco Corp., has seen demand for its compostable straws double in the last six months.

When he was first getting EcoGlass off the ground, Graffius spent years traveling to craft shows and conferences handing out free samples of his glass straws to drum up business. But people still viewed them as a gimmick. “I spent a lot of money and I pretty much got nowhere,” he recalled.

Graffius abandoned his marketing efforts and refocused on making his straws. He imports shatter-resistant glass from Germany and then hand-shapes and polishes it into smooth, dishwasher-safe drinking tubes “almost equal to the silverware that’s in your drawer.”

He sells his straws direct through his company website and in bulk to a distributor, Foods Alive Inc., based in Angola, Indiana. Foods Alive repackages and sells the straws to several hundred retail stores, juice bars and consumers. The distributor has seen sales jump by 30 percent from last year, and now markets the EcoGlass product to individuals, too, packaged with a carrying case and cleaning brush, said Matt Alvord, one of the company’s founders.

EcoGlass’s phone started ringing more often a couple years ago after the turtle video stirred more awareness about how plastic trash was harming the environment.

A local restaurant, Pelinti Pizza, is among the new customers stocking EcoGlass straws. Owner Gabriel Head says customers have been “overwhelmingly positive,” with many thanking him for providing an option other than plastic.

“People who care, get it,’ he said.

As demand took off over the past year, EcoGlass has been able to cut prices by almost half, with the wholesale price now ranging from $1 to $1.50 per straw, depending on style. Compare that to a box of 100 disposable plastic bendy straws that retails for $5.99 on Amazon.com, or about six cents apiece. Graffius is finishing work on a machine that will drastically speed up the cutting and polishing process. He expects an average 1,890 straws an hour to roll off the assembly line by next month, which will allow him to cut prices even more.

Meanwhile the glassmaker is hearing from new customers every day, ranging from hospitals to hotels, as the plastic backlash accelerates.

“It’s exciting,” Graffius said. His business started with a simple, environmentally friendly product that was ahead of its time, “and now everything’s catching up.”

Copyright © 2018, Chicago Tribune

Source:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-biz-ecoglass-straw-company-20180716-story.html

The post The Chicago Tribune appeared first on Eco Glass Straws.

Today, his four-person shop in Hood River, Oregon, is gearing up to turn out 2,000 handcrafted glass straws an hour. That’s up from the current pace of 125 an hour, or 1,000 a day.

EcoGlass’ surging output underscores a wave of change as the straw emerges as a central symbol of the world’s plastic-trash crisis. With consumers searching for greener options, companies from Starbucks to McDonald’s to MGM Resorts International are responding.
“Everybody’s got to find a replacement,” said Graffius, who said he has seen orders more than triple in the past year after a long struggle to convince buyers his wares were more than a novelty. “We didn’t anticipate this happening. We were going to really hit the market.’’ But instead, “It’s hitting us.”

Plastic straws are just one example of how companies are being forced to adapt to changing public attitudes about the environment. For some, abandoning traditional plastic raises costs, threatens sales and forces uncomfortable conversations with customers. Others see an opportunity for new business with the rise in demand for alternatives.

The furor dates to a viral 2015 video of marine biologists pulling a straw from deep inside the nose of a sea turtle. Then in 2017 the “Strawless in Seattle” campaign motivated cities to take action. The public outcry escalated to the point McDonald’s, Starbucks and MGM have vowed to phase out their reliance on plastic straws globally. American Airlines Group said Tuesday it would replace plastic straws and stir sticks with more “eco-friendly” straw and bamboo options. Alaska Air Group said in May it would phase out single-use plastic straws.

While straws account for just 0.03 percent of the 8 million metric tons of plastic that enter the ocean each year, according to a 2015 study, the disturbing images refocused the world’s attention on the problem.

“The anti-single-use-plastic movement is much bigger than those who identify as environmentalists,” said Maisie Ganzler, brand chief for Bon Appétit Management, a food-service chain that on May 31 said it would stop using traditional plastic straws. “When people see the photographic evidence of the amount of plastic pollution in our oceans and in the bodies of birds, fish, turtles and whales, it’s stomach-turning no matter what your politics are.”

In recent months, countries in Europe have begun announcing bans or limits. As of July 1, Seattle became the first major U.S. city to outlaw plastic straws, after similar measures by smaller cities along the East and West Coasts. Even where laws haven’t changed, the public outcry is pressuring companies to respond or risk alienating customers. That pressure travels up and down the supply chain.

Best Diamond Plastics co-founder and President Mark Tolliver has grown his straw-making business to more than 70 employees from the five he started with in 2008, in large part thanks to his first major customer: McDonald’s. Now his 73,000-square-foot plant in Chicago churns out plastic implements for customers including five big fast-food companies.
Tolliver started talking with McDonald’s about more environmentally friendly options a few years ago as concerns about plastic trash gained traction. That sent him searching for a solution that wouldn’t turn his growing business upside down. Competing against a range of entirely different materials, such as glass, paper or metal, Best Diamond decided to stick with the material it knew best, but engineer it to quickly decompose.

Tolliver teamed up with Smart Plastic Technologies in Knoxville, Tennessee, where CEO Tim Murtaugh found success in recent years selling an additive that makes plastic grocery bags biodegradable, and has now adjusted the product to work for straws.
In the past six months, the drive for an alternative became more urgent as he heard from all five of his big fast-food customers. McDonald’s said last month it would be replacing plastic straws with paper in the United Kingdom and Ireland by 2019, and would start testing substitutes in the U.S., as well.

Murtaugh says he’s seen a tenfold increase in inquiries for his additive so far this year, including from many larger companies. “We’ve drawn their attention, they’re impressed with our technology, and we are now in what I would call the final phase of conversation about it,’’ he said.

Many plastic substitutes come with their own set of environmental problems, said Murtaugh. Paper straws have more carbon emissions when the entire manufacturing process is considered, and plant-based bioplastics are tricky because they won’t break down if they’re not composted correctly, he said. Reusable glass straws can be difficult to clean and are significantly more expensive up front.

Nonetheless, those products are also seeing demand surge in the wake of the plastic-straw controversy.

The largest U.S. paper-straw maker, Aardvark Straws, can’t keep up with the flood of new orders, leaving some customers to wait three months for their orders to be filled.

Eco-Products, which supplies food-service giants such as US Foods Holdings and Sysco, has seen demand for its compostable straws double in the past six months.

When he was first getting EcoGlass off the ground, Graffius spent years traveling to craft shows and conferences handing out free samples of his glass straws to drum up business. But people still viewed them as a gimmick. “I spent a lot of money and I pretty much got nowhere,” he recalled.

Graffius abandoned his marketing efforts and refocused on making his straws. He imports shatter-resistant glass from Germany and then hand-shapes and polishes it into smooth, dishwasher-safe drinking tubes “almost equal to the silverware that’s in your drawer.’’

He sells his straws direct through his company website and in bulk to a distributor, Foods Alive, based in Angola, Indiana. Foods Alive repackages and sells the straws to several hundred retail stores, juice bars and consumers. The distributor has seen sales jump by 30 percent from last year, and now markets the EcoGlass product to individuals, too, packaged with a carrying case and cleaning brush, said Matt Alvord, one of the company’s founders.

EcoGlass’ phone started ringing more after the turtle video stirred more awareness about how plastic trash was harming the environment.

A Hood River restaurant, Pelinti Pizza, is among the new customers stocking EcoGlass straws. Owner Gabriel Head says customers have been “overwhelmingly positive,” with many thanking him for providing an option other than plastic.

“People who care, get it,” he said.

As demand took off over the past year, EcoGlass has been able to cut prices by almost half, with the wholesale price now ranging from $1 to $1.50 per straw, depending on style. Compare that to a box of 100 disposable plastic bendy straws that retails for $5.99 on Amazon.com, or about 6 cents apiece. Graffius is finishing work on a machine that will speed up the cutting and polishing process. He expects an average 1,890 straws an hour to roll off the assembly line by next month, which will allow him to cut prices more.

Meanwhile, the glassmaker is hearing from new customers every day, ranging from hospitals to hotels.

“It’s exciting,’’ Graffius said. His business started with a simple, environmentally friendly product that was ahead of its time, “and now everything’s catching up.”
Eliza Haverstock

Source:
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/oregon-glass-maker-sees-opportunity-in-demise-of-plastic-straws/

The post The Seattle Times appeared first on Eco Glass Straws.

Today, his tiny four-person shop in Hood River, Ore., is gearing up to turn out 2,000 handcrafted glass straws an hour. That’s up from the current pace of 125 an hour, or 1,000 a day.

EcoGlass’ surging output underscores a wave of change sweeping through the supply chain as the straw emerges as a central symbol of the world’s plastic trash crisis. With consumers searching for greener options, companies from Starbucks to McDonald’s to MGM Resorts International are responding.

“Everybody’s got to find a replacement,” said Graffius, who has seen orders more than triple in the past year after a long struggle to convince buyers his wares were more than just a novelty. “We didn’t anticipate this happening. We were going to really hit the market.’’ But instead, “it’s hitting us.”

Plastic straws are just one example of how companies are being forced to adapt to changing public attitudes about the environment. For some, abandoning traditional plastic raises costs, threatens sales and forces uncomfortable conversations with customers. Others see an opportunity for new business with the rise in demand for alternatives.

The furor dates to a viral 2015 video of marine biologists pulling a straw from deep inside the nose of a sea turtle. Then in 2017 the “Strawless in Seattle” campaign motivated cities to take action.

While straws account for just 0.03 percent of the 8 million metric tons of plastic that enters the ocean each year, according to a 2015 study, the disturbing images refocused the world’s attention on the problem.

“The anti-single-use-plastic movement is much bigger than those who identify as environmentalists,” said Maisie Ganzler, brand chief for Bon Appetit Management Co., a food-service chain that on May 31 said it would stop using traditional plastic straws. “When people see the photographic evidence of the amount of plastic pollution in our oceans and in the bodies of birds, fish, turtles and whales, it’s stomach-turning no matter what your politics are,” Ganzler said.

In recent months, countries in Europe have begun announcing bans or limits. As of July 1, Seattle became the first major U.S. city to outlaw plastic straws, following similar measures by smaller towns along the east and west coasts. Even where laws haven’t changed, the public outcry is pressuring companies to respond or risk alienating customers. That pressure travels up and down the supply chain.

Best Diamond Plastics co-founder and President Mark Tolliver has grown his straw-making business to more than 70 employees from the five he started with in 2008, in large part thanks to his first major customer: McDonald’s. Now his 73,000 square-foot plant in Chicago churns out plastic implements for customers including five big fast-food companies.

Tolliver started talking with McDonald’s about more environmentally friendly options a few years ago as concerns about plastic trash gained traction. That sent him searching for a solution that wouldn’t turn his growing business upside down. Competing against a range of entirely different materials, such as glass, paper or metal, Best Diamond decided to stick with the material it knew best, but engineer it to quickly decompose.

Tolliver teamed up with Smart Plastic Technologies in Knoxville, Tenn., where CEO Tim Murtaugh found success in recent years selling an additive that makes plastic grocery bags biodegradable, and has now adjusted the product to work for straws.

In the last six months, the drive for an alternative became more urgent as he heard from all five of his big fast-food customers. McDonald’s announced last month it would be replacing plastic straws with paper in Britain and Ireland by 2019, and would start testing substitutes in the U.S., as well.

Murtaugh says he’s seen a tenfold increase in inquiries for his additive so far this year, including from many larger companies. “We’ve drawn their attention, they’re impressed with our technology, and we are now in what I would call the final phase of conversation about it,’’ he said.

Many plastic substitutes come with their own set of environmental problems, said Murtaugh. Paper straws have more carbon emissions when the entire manufacturing process is considered, and plant-based bioplastics are tricky because they won’t break down if they’re not composted correctly, he said. Reuseable glass straws can be difficult to clean and are significantly more expensive up front.

Nonetheless, those products are also seeing demand surge in the wake of the plastic straw controversy.

The largest U.S. paper straw maker, Aardvark Straws, can’t keep up with the flood of new orders, leaving some customers to wait three months for their orders to be filled.

Eco-Products, which supplies food-service giants such as US Foods and Sysco, has seen demand for its compostable straws double in the last six months.

When he was first getting EcoGlass off the ground, Graffius spent years traveling to craft shows and conferences handing out free samples of his glass straws to drum up business. But people still viewed them as a gimmick. “I spent a lot of money and I pretty much got nowhere,” he recalled.

Graffius abandoned his marketing efforts and refocused on making his straws. He imports shatter-resistant glass from Germany and then hand-shapes and polishes it into smooth, dishwasher-safe drinking tubes “almost equal to the silverware that’s in your drawer.’’

He sells his straws direct through his company website and in bulk to a distributor, Foods Alive, from Indiana. Foods Alive repackages and sells the straws to hundreds of stores, juice bars and consumers. The distributor has seen sales jump by 30 percent from last year, and now markets the EcoGlass product to individuals, too, packaged with a carrying case and cleaning brush, said Matt Alvord, one of the company’s founders.

EcoGlass’s phone started ringing more often a couple years ago after the turtle video stirred more awareness about how plastic trash was harming the environment.

A local restaurant, Pelinti Pizza, is among the new customers stocking EcoGlass straws. Owner Gabriel Head says customers have been “overwhelmingly positive,” with many thanking him for providing an option other than plastic.

“People who care, get it,” he said.

As demand took off over the past year, EcoGlass has been able to cut prices by almost half, with the wholesale price now ranging from $1 to $1.50 per straw, depending on style. Compare that to a box of 100 disposable plastic bendy straws that retails for $5.99 on Amazon.com, or about 6 cents apiece. Graffius is finishing work on a machine that will drastically speed up the cutting and polishing process. He expects an average 1,890 straws an hour to roll off the assembly line by next month, which will allow him to cut prices even more.

Meanwhile, the glassmaker is hearing from new customers every day, ranging from hospitals to hotels, as the plastic backlash accelerates.

“It’s exciting,’’ Graffius said. His business started with a simple, environmentally friendly product that was ahead of its time, “and now everything’s catching up.”

Eliza Haverstock is a Bloomberg writer. Email: ehaverstock@bloomberg.net

Source:
https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/They-re-building-the-straw-of-tomorrow-now-that-13074432.php

The post San Francisco Gate (SFGate) appeared first on Eco Glass Straws.

* Los popotes ecológicos se pusieron de moda y ahora todos quieren ser ecológicos y han decidio cambiar los plásticos por algo menos contaminante.

Esta es la historia de Craig Graffius el fundador de EcoGlass Straws. Hace 12 años inició su empresa, lo que le hacían falta eran clientes.

Con el boom de lo ecológico y las muchas historias del daño que hace el plástico al medio ambiente, su vida dio un vuelco inesperado.

Hoy, su pequeño taller de cuatro personas en Hood River, Oregon, se está preparando para producir 2 mil popotes de vidrio artesanales por hora.

El incremento en la producción de EcoGlass da cuenta del movimiento positivo de conciencias que hay en el ser humano por preservar el medio ambiente.

A esta iniciativa de “cero popotes”, compañías desde Starbucks y McDonald’s hasta MGM Resorts International se están sumando al cambio.

Pero como siempre hay un frijol en el arroz, hay mucha gente que se resiste a dejar lo tradicional, pero para que no pierdan amistades, para ellos ya hay opciones.

Ya sea de metal o vidrio, está mejor porque así podrán cargar su propio popote a todos lados y sin dudas sobre si está limpio o no.

Source:
https://digitallpost.com.mx/economia-negocios-finanzas/dinero-finanzas-economia/popotes-ecologicos-la-opcion-para-proteger-el-medio-ambiente/

The post Digital Post, Business Locker appeared first on Eco Glass Straws.

Today, his tiny four-person shop in Hood River, Oregon, is gearing up to turn out 2,000 handcrafted glass straws an hour. That’s up from the current pace of 125 an hour, or 1,000 a day.

EcoGlass’s surging output underscores a wave of change sweeping through the supply chain as the straw emerges as a central symbol of the world’s plastic trash crisis. With consumers searching for greener options, companies from Starbucks Corp. to McDonald’s Corp. to MGM Resorts International are responding.

“Everybody’s got to find a replacement,” said Graffius, who has seen orders more than triple in the past year after a long struggle to convince buyers his wares were more than just a novelty. “We didn’t anticipate this happening. We were going to really hit the market.’’ But instead, “it’s hitting us.”

Plastic straws are just one example of how companies are being forced to adapt to changing public attitudes about the environment. For some, abandoning traditional plastic raises costs, threatens sales and forces uncomfortable conversations with customers. Others see an opportunity for new business with the rise in demand for alternatives.

Sea Turtle

The furor dates to a viral 2015 video of marine biologists pulling a straw from deep inside the nose of a sea turtle. Then in 2017 the “Strawless in Seattle” campaign motivated cities to take action. The public outcry escalated to the point McDonald’s, Starbucks and MGM have vowed to phase out their reliance on plastic straws globally. American Airlines Group Inc. said Tuesday it would replace plastic straws and stir sticks with more “eco-friendly” straw and bamboo options. Alaska Air Group Inc. said in May it would phase out single-use plastic straws.

A propane torch is used to polish the straws

While straws account for just .03 percent of the 8 million metric tons of plastic that enters the ocean each year, according to a 2015 study, the disturbing images refocused the world’s attention on the problem.

“The anti-single-use-plastic movement is much bigger than those who identify as environmentalists,” said Maisie Ganzler, brand chief for Bon Appetit Management Co., a food-service chain that on May 31 said it would stop using traditional plastic straws. “When people see the photographic evidence of the amount of plastic pollution in our oceans and in the bodies of birds, fish, turtles and whales, it’s stomach-turning no matter what your politics are,” Ganzler said.

Biodegradable Option

In recent months, countries in Europe have begun announcing bans or limits. As of July 1, Seattle became the first major U.S. city to outlaw plastic straws, following similar measures by smaller towns along the East and West Coasts. Even where laws haven’t changed, the public outcry is pressuring companies to respond or risk alienating customers. That pressure travels up and down the supply chain.

Best Diamond Plastics co-founder and President Mark Tolliver has grown his straw-making business to more than 70 employees from the five he started with in 2008, in large part thanks to his first major customer: McDonald’s. Now his 73,000 square-foot plant in Chicago churns out plastic implements for customers including five big fast-food companies.

Smart Plastic

Tolliver started talking with McDonald’s about more environmentally friendly options a few years ago as concerns about plastic trash gained traction. That sent him searching for a solution that wouldn’t turn his growing business upside down. Competing against a range of entirely different materials, such as glass, paper or metal, Best Diamond decided to stick with the material it knew best, but engineer it to quickly decompose.

Tolliver teamed up with Smart Plastic Technologies in Knoxville, Tennessee, where CEO Tim Murtaugh found success in recent years selling an additive that makes plastic grocery bags biodegradable, and has now adjusted the product to work for straws.

In the last six months, the drive for an alternative became more urgent as he heard from all five of his big fast-food customers. McDonald’s announced last month it would be replacing plastic straws with paper in the U.K. and Ireland by 2019, and would start testing substitutes in the U.S., as well.

Drawing Attention

Murtaugh says he’s seen a tenfold increase in inquiries for his additive so far this year, including from many larger companies. “We’ve drawn their attention, they’re impressed with our technology, and we are now in what I would call the final phase of conversation about it,’’ he said.

Many plastic substitutes come with their own set of environmental problems, said Murtaugh. Paper straws have more carbon emissions when the entire manufacturing process is considered, and plant-based bioplastics are tricky because they won’t break down if they’re not composted correctly, he said. Reuseable glass straws can be difficult to clean and are significantly more expensive up front.

Nonetheless, those products are also seeing demand surge in the wake of the plastic straw controversy.

The largest U.S. paper straw maker, Aardvark Straws, can’t keep up with the flood of new orders, leaving some customers to wait three months for their orders to be filled.

Eco-Products Inc., which supplies food-service giants such as US Foods Holdings Corp. and Sysco Corp., has seen demand for its compostable straws double in the last six months.

When he was first getting EcoGlass off the ground, Graffius spent years traveling to craft shows and conferences handing out free samples of his glass straws to drum up business. But people still viewed them as a gimmick. “I spent a lot of money and I pretty much got nowhere,” he recalled.

Like ‘Silverware’

Graffius abandoned his marketing efforts and refocused on making his straws. He imports shatter-resistant glass from Germany and then hand-shapes and polishes it into smooth, dishwasher-safe drinking tubes “almost equal to the silverware that’s in your drawer.’’

He sells his straws direct through his company website and in bulk to a distributor, Foods Alive Inc., based in Angola, Indiana. Foods Alive repackages and sells the straws to several hundred retail stores, juice bars and consumers. The distributor has seen sales jump by 30 percent from last year, and now markets the EcoGlass product to individuals, too, packaged with a carrying case and cleaning brush, said Matt Alvord, one of the company’s founders.

‘Overwhelmingly Positive’

EcoGlass’s phone started ringing more often a couple years ago after the turtle video stirred more awareness about how plastic trash was harming the environment.

A LOCAL RESTAURANT, PELINTI PIZZA, IS AMONG THE NEW CUSTOMERS STOCKING ECOGLASS STRAWS. OWNER GABRIEL HEAD SAYS CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN “OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE,” WITH MANY THANKING HIM FOR PROVIDING AN OPTION OTHER THAN PLASTIC.

“PEOPLE WHO CARE, GET IT,” HE SAID.

As demand took off over the past year, EcoGlass has been able to cut prices by almost half, with the wholesale price now ranging from $1 to $1.50 per straw, depending on style. Compare that to a box of 100 disposable plastic bendy straws that retails for $5.99 on Amazon.com, or about six cents apiece. Graffius is finishing work on a machine that will drastically speed up the cutting and polishing process. He expects an average 1,890 straws an hour to roll off the assembly line by next month, which will allow him to cut prices even more.

Meanwhile the glassmaker is hearing from new customers every day, ranging from hospitals to hotels, as the plastic backlash accelerates.
“It’s exciting,’’ Graffius said. His business started with a simple, environmentally friendly product that was ahead of its time, “and now everything’s catching up.”
Source:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-10/race-is-on-for-greener-straws-as-starbucks-mgm-spurn-plastic

The post Bloomberg appeared first on Eco Glass Straws.