Stellenbosch University's Leila Siljeur has designed edible straws, which come in three ranges – regular, health and vegan – and don’t become mushy when you put them in a wet substance.
Having sold small batches of 10 to 20 edible straws informally to SU students since last year, the second-year Chemical Engineering student has a clear front-runner based on their tastes.
“The vegan mix berry-flavoured straws have been selling well. We also have raspberry- and chocolate-flavoured straws.”
She intends rolling out the environmentally-friendly straws to businesses, especially fast food chains, with the help of the R50,000 she won for her invention in a recent Allan Gray Orbis Foundation National Jamboree.
“We would like to sell it to these types of stores so that they can distribute them. Then it doesn’t come directly out of the consumer’s pocket,” said the 19-year-old.
Siljeur began work on the project after being moved by a Facebook post of a sea turtle with a plastic fork stuck in its nose.
Determined to do something to help reduce plastic pollution, she came up with the “Eat Me Straws” and says her idea is an improvement on other products. “Even though companies are producing biodegradable straws, some still end up in the ocean posing a threat to marine life.”
Siljeur says when she started designing the straws she played around with different binding, emulsifying and deglazing agents because she didn’t want sticky straws that could affect the taste of the customer’s drink.
The texture of her straws is a mixture between liquorice and dry fruit.
“The straws can be coloured and flavoured as per customer specifications. We use different bases for the three ranges – gelatine for regular straws, plants for vegan straws and fruit for the health variety.”
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