Plastic straws are banned at the end of the year: paper straws are expensive and difficult to produce, and most small businesses are still waiting to see

Huo Wei, Senior Director of Public Relations of HEYTEA Media: All takeaways in Beijing have delivered paper straws by default, and they will be implemented in other cities across the country in the future.
As of June this year, we have reduced the use of plastic straws by more than 11 million nationwide
.

The data shows that in 2019, the cumulative output of plastic products in the country was 81.
84 million tons, of which nearly 30,000 tons of plastic straws, or about 46 billion pieces, were used per capita.
More than 30 pieces were used per capita.
Industry experts said that the use time of plastic straws is only a few minutes, but the degradation The time period may be as long as 500 years
.

Liu Jianguo, a professor at the School of Environment, Tsinghua University: It is very difficult to recycle plastic straws.
We start with plastic straws.
It is relatively easy to implement the ban.
It sends a very clear signal to consumers and residents that we must reduce the amount of plastic Dependence on products, which helps to promote the formation of green life and green consumption
.

Paper straws replace plastic straws, cost and experience are problems to be solved

From September 1 this year, China will implement the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste".
Those who fail to comply with the state's regulations on prohibiting and restricting the use of disposable plastic products such as non-degradable plastic bags will be punished with a fine of 10,000 to 100,000 yuan.
dollar fine
.
Driven by policy mandates and leading companies, more and more companies have joined the plastic restriction action.
How do consumers feel?

In the interviews, most consumers expressed their understanding and support for the ban on plastic straws, but some consumers still expressed some inconvenience after the ban
.
Taking into account consumption habits, especially for milk tea shops and beverage shops that are highly dependent on the use of straws, it has become a top priority to find products that can replace plastic straws and guide consumers to use them
.

The reporter found that some stores have printed the outer packaging of plastic straws with the logo of "reduce the use of straws and are more environmentally friendly", and put paper straws and plastic straws on the service desk at the same time to guide consumers to use them
.

However, for customers, there are still differences in the use experience between plastic straws and paper straws.
The person in charge of a store told reporters that currently only 1/3 of customers will choose to use environmentally friendly paper straws
.

For enterprises, how to control costs and improve customer experience at the same time has become an urgent problem to be solved
.
It is understood that the average cost of plastic straws is about 0.
03 yuan, and the cost of paper straws is about 0.
1 yuan, a difference of more than 3 times
.
Paper straws are not only more expensive, but the experience of use also needs to be optimized
.

However, some industry insiders and experts also said that with the breakthrough and innovation of new materials and new technologies, the environmentally friendly replacement of plastic straws is not difficult
.

Liu Jianguo, a professor at the School of Environment, Tsinghua University: It can be replaced with degradable bioplastics, or paper or bamboo, including wheat, some plant straws, and glass, metal and other recyclable products.
, according to each consumption scenario, to choose alternative products
.

Biodegradable straws are expensive and difficult to produce, and most small businesses are still on the sidelines

We see that some beverage production companies are also thinking of ways to protect the environment, so what is the current situation of plastic straw companies? How did they deal with the "plastic restriction order"?

Zhejiang Yiwu's Shuangtong Straw is the world's leading straw manufacturer, and like most of its peers, the company has been producing traditional plastic straws for a long time after its establishment in 1994
.
Small profits but quick turnover is the strategy adopted by almost all straw manufacturers.
If you want to make a profit, you must lower prices and increase shipments
.
Such a model is difficult for the company to grow.
In 2005, it developed and produced a polylactic acid degradable straw
.

Today, degradable straws account for more than 60% of the company's business, and materials include polylactic acid, paper, stainless steel,
etc.
The person in charge told reporters that the cost of ordinary straws is about 1 cent, the cost of paper and polylactic acid straws is generally 3 to 4 cents, and the cost of reusable straws such as stainless steel and glass is higher, at 2 to 4 cents not wait
.
In addition to the higher cost, the shelf life of polylactic acid products usually does not exceed 12 months, and the products will degrade once stored for too long
.
Therefore, manufacturers must sell as soon as possible to avoid a long-term backlog of inventory
.

For this reason, many companies often choose paper straws when transforming.
A company in Anji was established by a joint venture between a papermaking company and a straw company
.
The reporter learned that the production process of its paper straws is not simple
.

Taking the tube rolling process as an example, each paper straw needs to be rolled with three layers of paper
.
Due to the different needs of each customer, the specifications of the paper are also different, and the machine needs to be adjusted for each production
.
Even if the production can be successfully completed, drying is a headache for many inexperienced enterprises
.
It is precisely because of the cost of capital, technology and other reasons that many small and medium-sized enterprises have not rashly transformed
.

Li Erqiao, general manager of Yiwu Shuangtong Daily Necessities Co.
, Ltd.
: Now some large-scale domestic enterprises are making biodegradable, and some small-scale enterprises are still taking a wait-and-see attitude
.