Couple Introducing Compostable Sugarcane-Based Straws To Moncton
MONCTON – For Tylleen Yeh and her family, the world’s reliance on plastic is something they want to change. So from their printer ink refilling shop on Mapleton Rd., they now also sell compostable straws made out of sugarcane fiber, based on technology from their native Taiwan.
“Our goal is to replace plastic straws in every store in the future,” Yeh said.
Their business, called Sweet Earth Fiber Products, started selling straws under the brand Plant Plus in July. The shop serves as the New Brunswick arm of B.C.-based Gallop International Trading, the Canadian subsidiary of Taiwanese company PFTA.
Gallop’s CEO and founder Alfie Hsu says the sugarcane-fiber straws are more eco-friendly than paper straws because they don’t require cutting trees, and the production uses less water and energy.
Plant Plus straws are made out of natural plant fiber, natural edible starch and natural vegetable gum. The key ingredient is the fiber, which comes from the residue left from the extraction of sugar cane juice, Hsu said.
“Sugarcane is used to make sugar….the leftover, the sugarcane fiber, which is waste, [is what we use]. Before, the farmers would have to compost it themselves or burn it…We buy that waste, that by-product, to create value from that,” he explained.
The technology can also be applied to anything from eating utensils like plates and forks to furniture. And in the future, other plant fibres from brewing waste, farm waste or coffee grounds can also be used as raw material.
The non-toxic straws contain no plastic, Yeh said. They’re sturdy but not hard like a metal straw, and they don’t become soft and soggy if left in a drink for sometime. They can withstand temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius. They’re also washable and reusable, she added.
“At my home, I keep the straws about half a month. Just water-rinse them,” she said.
In a composting environment, the straws can be broken down into water and carbon dioxide in eight weeks. They’ll also naturally break down in two-to-four years if left un-used, Yeh said.
They are currently more expensive than paper straws, but they’ve found their way into a few businesses in and around the Moncton region.
There are three straw sizes. They range in price from 12 cents a straw for the one smallest in diameter to 24 cents a straw for the largest one.
Cafe Cognito in Moncton and Cackling Goose Cafe in Sackville use the straws. Sequoia Natural & Organics Dieppe and downtown Moncton, and Madame Thai in Moncton carry them in small bags.
Yeh, who also offers the straws wholesale, plans to reach more restaurants, shops and cafes. But franchised shops, many of which use paper straws, are more difficult to reach because they already have their own suppliers, she said.
A Heart For The Environment
Yeh moved to Moncton about 11 years ago to be with her husband Yota Huang, who moved to Canada around 15 years ago. The couple has two children and they co-own the printer ink refill shop with Huang’s sister, Joy.
The environment has always been important for the vegetarian family. When they opened the ink refilling shop, they were hoping to help people reduce waste and money by reusing the cartridges instead of throwing them away and buying new ones.
But 10 years since they first opened the shop, while the family still runs the refilling business, they’re also ready to embark on a new venture, pushed by a desire to do something more for the environment.
“Especially in the beginning of the year, I saw a video and picture of garbage in the ocean. It makes our earth worse,” she said. “My daughter saw the video of the turtle with the plastic in its nose. It’s very shocking for us. I said, why we won’t stop this?”
“If we are that turtle…maybe it could happen to our kids, to human beings in the future. It’s terrible. We need to stop this. But so far, our power is very small. We need, maybe, government help.”
It was shortly after that Yeh came across the Plant Plus straws. At the time, PFTA was also planning to introduce the product to Canada via Gallop International Trading Co.
“I decided to contact them right away. I said, maybe I can help here,” Yeh said.
Yeh, as an extension of Gallop, is also contributing to One Percent for the Planet, an international organization whose members contribute at least one per cent of their annual sales to environmental causes.
Plans For A Canadian Factory
Right now the straws are still imported from Taiwan. But Gallop, which brought the straws and technology to Canada at the end of last year, is working to open a manufacturing facility in Canada. Hsu says the company plans to start by importing the raw material for the straws.
“We want to cut on cost and reduce pollution,” Hsu said. “One container of raw material equals eight containers of final product. So we’d actually reduce a lot of emission from that.”
In the future, Gallop hopes to work with more local straw manufacturers in Ontario, British Columbia and the U.S.
“If more people are using our material, then we can build out a raw material processing manufacturing [facility] so we can use local resources like hemp or weeds, crops, all kinds of plant fibers we can use,” he said.
He’ll leave the New Brunswick market to Yeh and her family, while supporting them with marketing and other things.
Gallop is also working with waste management company GFL Environmental in British Columbia for the composting part of the business.
“We are in partnership with GFL in B.C. now, and we are planning to work with them in different provinces,” Hsu said.
“Our vision and goal is not focusing on selling products. We also want to cycle our product in zero waste goal, so working with local composting facility is very important for us.”