意面，或可成為塑料吸管的替代品

Roughly 8.5 billion plastic straws are used in the U.K. each year, but as a new ban takes effect next April, that number will shrink to zero.

英國每年大約使用85億根塑料吸管，但隨著明年4月新禁令的生效，這一數(shù)字將降至為零。

One startup is hoping to corner the market for alternative straws using an unlikely material: pasta.

一家初創(chuàng)公司希望利用一種不太可能的材料——意大利面，壟斷替代吸管的市場。

“It ticks all the boxes in terms of functionality as a plastic straw that everyone’s been used to growing up,” says Maxim Gelmann, founder of Stroodles, the startup.

初創(chuàng)公司Stroodles的創(chuàng)始人馬克西姆•蓋爾曼(Maxim Gelmann)表示:“就功能而言，它符合所有標(biāo)準，就像一根每個人在成長過程中都習(xí)慣了的塑料吸管。”

The straws, made by an Italian manufacturer that also produces regular pasta, are the same shape and size as a standard plastic straw.

這種吸管形狀和大小與標(biāo)準塑料吸管相同，由一家意大利面制造商制造。

圖片來源：Stroodles

Unlike a paper straw, they don’t taste like wet paper; they don’t change the flavor of the drink. They last at least an hour, and longer in colder drinks.

與紙吸管不同，它們嘗起來不像濕紙，也不會改變飲料的味道。它們至少可以持續(xù)一個小時，在較冷的飲料中可以持續(xù)更長時間。

“Let’s say you have your gin and tonic and then you refill it with ice, it goes even longer,” Gelmann says.

蓋爾曼說:“假設(shè)你喝的是杜松子酒加奎寧水，然后再加冰，這種習(xí)慣會用得更久。”

If you’re nursing a drink for hours and the pasta eventually softens, you can choose to eat it (the raw straw is also edible, and Gelmann says that some people snack on them).

如果你喝了幾個小時的飲料，意面吸管最終變軟了，你可以選擇把它吃掉(這種意面做的吸管完全可以生吃，蓋爾曼表示，有些人甚至?xí)阉?dāng)零食吃)。

A handful of other pasta-straw startups also exist, though Stroodles is hoping to differentiate itself with a smoother, more plastic-like texture and its branding.

雖然Stroodles希望通過更光滑、更像塑料的質(zhì)地和品牌來讓自己與眾不同，但市面上還有其他幾家意面吸管的初創(chuàng)企業(yè)。

It’s more expensive to make than a plastic straw, but at large volumes, it can compete with the cost of paper straws.

這種吸管的制造成本比塑料吸管要高，但如果大批量生產(chǎn)的話，它可以與紙吸管的成本相媲美。

Because of the coming ban, “no one really compares [us] with plastic anymore,” Gelmann says. “They compare [us] with paper straw prices, which makes my argument much easier.”

蓋爾曼表示，由于即將出臺的禁令，“沒有人再把(我們)和塑料制品相提并論了。他們將(我們的)價格與紙質(zhì)吸管價格進行比較，這讓我更容易說服客戶。”

Other alternatives, like bamboo or stainless steel, are more expensive and arguably a less elegant solution; some bars say that patrons don’t trust the idea that stainless steel straws can be fully sanitized.

其他的替代品，如竹子或不銹鋼吸管，則更為昂貴，而且可以說是一種不那么優(yōu)雅的解決方案;一些酒吧表示，顧客不相信不銹鋼吸管可以完全消毒。

Another option—a plastic-like edible straw made from seaweed—may be more of a competitor.

另一種選擇——由海藻制成的塑料狀可食用吸管——可能更具競爭力。